Let The Storm Rage On
by WarriorOfTheLight
Summary: Disney meets Hogwarts. AU. Anna and Elsa aren't sisters. Elsanna.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a story largely inspired by a lot of tumblr prompts and posts. I really liked the idea of a Disney/Harry Potter crossover, but this is a Frozen fanfiction as it will centre around Anna and Elsa. Anna and Elsa are not sisters so Elsanna is allowed.**

Elsa groaned as she watched the other seventh years file into the classroom. She took potions because she was good at it and yet, there were only two Slytherins in the class. Beside her, Jack laughed.

"Regretting this already?" Elsa glared at him before smacking him upside the head which just caused him to laugh harder. Elsa often wondered why they were best friends, but she never regretted it. For all his goofiness and annoying traits, Jack was loyal and cared for her greatly. Just the thought made her smile before she started laughing with him.

For the first three years at Hogwarts, Elsa and Jack had often been mistaken for twins. Their appearance was scarily alike; Jack had silver hair and eyes whereas Elsa had bright platinum blonde hair with striking blue eyes. They both had very pale skin and had some sort of affinity with the cold, neither of them being bothered by it. It was this mistake that caused them to become friends in their first year and, both being in Slytherin, they soon became best friends after that. It was really just the two of them throughout school. They found many of the other Slytherins obnoxious and cruel but they never were upset about their House placement. In their O.W.L.s they both took the same classes and now that they were going to be sitting their N.E.W.T.s there was no difference.

"Fluffy Bunny alert at ten o'clock." Jack's voice brought Elsa out of her thoughts. Once his words had registered, she tensed before looking to where Jack had said.

There she was. Anna Kongelig. A seventh year Gryffindor who Elsa had been crushing on since her fourth year. And today was a perfect example of why. Her hair hung in two plaits across each shoulders, framing her face. Her red hair highlighting the freckles that covered her nose and cheeks. Even her uniform made her even more attractive, her knee high grey socks, short pleated skirt and white shirt with sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her red and gold tie was tied sloppily around her collar. Elsa could feel the blush forming. Why was she here? The blonde had spent years avoiding her for fear stopped her from even trying to be friends with the other girl.

"Wait," Jack said, "if she's here then she must have the same timetable as us. The _exact_ same timetable as us…"

Elsa groaned. He was right. All of her classes would be spent with a girl she had been blocking out for years.

…

Anna looked expectantly around the room. Sure she didn't want to take potions, but she needed it if she was thinking about any career in her future. She and her two friends had arrived later than the others and the only three seats together were on a table with two Slytherins. Anna would be lying if she said that she didn't know who the blonde girl there was. Elsa Isen was possibly the most gorgeous girl in Hogwarts and Anna was desperate to get to know her. But the other girl had never shown any interest in her, even disdain at some points.

"There are three seats over there." Anna said and began to walk over to the table before a hand yanked her back.

"Anna, we can't sit with them. Their _Slytherins_." Kristoff whisper shouted. Anna looked over to the table again and saw that both Elsa and the other boy were looking at them. They had obviously heard him. Sometimes Kristoff could be too quick to judge.

"C'mon Kristoff, we don't know them. Plus where else can we sit if we want to sit together." Kristoff looked around and sighed before motioning for Anna to go first.

As Anna turned, Merida leant in towards her "are you going to be alright?" the other redheaded Gryffindor was the only person who knew how much Elsa's isolation had hurt Anna. Anna looked over to her friend to see worry in her blue eyes. Anna smiled slightly and nodded.

The walk to the table seemed to take forever, probably because the two Slytherins never once took their eyes off the three of them. When the finally got there, Anna asked, "Is there anyone sitting here?"

…

Elsa stared at Anna. She couldn't believe that Anna had just defended her and Jack to the blonde Hufflepuff boy. She had never given the redhead any reason to defend her. Luckily, she was spared answering by Jack who motioned for the three of them to sit opposite them. Elsa tore her eyes away from the kind teal eyes of Anna and looked around the room. She recognised all of the faces there and cringed inwardly. She would be sharing her last year of school with these people. It wasn't that she hated them, she just preferred being alone. She felt safer that way. Jack was her only friend and she was content with that.

An awkward silence descended on the table, no one knowing whether or not they should introduce themselves or not. Elsa kept her eyes off Anna, aware that she would find it hard to take her eyes off the redhead once she looked at her.

Anna, on the other hand, being the optimist, decided to break the silence, ignoring the slight sting of Elsa's rejection.

"Hi, I'm Anna Kongelig and these are my friends Merida Dunbroch and Kristoff Bjorgman." Her bright voice caused Elsa's eyes to rise and meet Anna's.

"Uh, hi." Jack again managed to spare Elsa speaking. "I'm Jack Frost and this is-"

"Elsa Isen." Anna finished. Elsa's eyebrows rose in shock. Anna knew who she was? Once Anna realised what she had said, she blushed profusely and refused to meet anybody's eyes.

Luckily for Anna, the potions master, Professor Slughorn entered and brought the attention off Anna.

"Good morning everyone. I see that there is still a good attendance for potions this year." Slughorn's eyes travelled around the room before they landed on Anna, Kristoff and Merida. "Oh ho. No no no. you three will not be working with one another this year." Kristoff began to protest. "Oh no Mr Bjorgman, the house-elves are still trying to clean newt eyes remains from the _inside_ of the walls…" the three friends all blushed, causing a few chuckles to be heard from around the class. Slughorn's eyes then moved to Elsa and Jack. _Oh, God no_, Elsa thought. "Mr Frost, you will work with Bjorgman and Dunbroch. Elsa, you and Anna will work together."

Elsa's stomach dropped at the thought of working with Anna. Her heart-rate picked up. She shouldn't be this nervous, she scolded herself. Anna was popular and there was no way that she could ever look twice at someone like Elsa. Elsa crossed her arms across her stomach, a nervous habit that she had developed. Jack nudged her leg under the table. She knew what he was telling her. For the past year and a half, he had been trying to get Elsa to at least talk to Anna, but to no avail. Now he was telling her that this was the ideal opportunity. She sighed slightly before nodding her head slightly, just enough for Jack to understand.

Anna couldn't believe her luck. She was _assigned_ to work with Elsa. The other girl would have to acknowledge her now. She could see that there was some silent communication going on between Jack and Elsa, causing the blonde girl to sigh before nodding slightly. After what could have been a moment of hesitation, Elsa looked up and smiled shyly at Anna.

_God, she's beautiful_, Anna thought. Her eyes were ice blue, but not white-ice. More like the ice that's underneath the water; clear, blue and full of mystery. Anna couldn't help beaming back.

"Right, partner up and see who can make the closest to Veritaserum. And yes, I know it takes a lunar cycle of 28 days, but the basic potion can be attempted at the moment. There will be no reward today, I just want to ensure that none of you have forgotten how to make potions, yes, Mr Bjorgman, I am looking at you."

Jack smiled apologetically at Elsa before switching seats with Anna. Elsa made no move to begin. And neither did Anna. Elsa tried to ignore the energetic butterflies with hard-edged wings in her stomach. Finally she found her voice for the first time since seeing Anna.

"Hi," she said softly, smiling slightly at the other girl.

Anna physically reacted. "Hi me? Oh, uh, hi." She silently cursed herself for being so awkward as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She was sure that her heart nearly stopped when she heard Elsa giggle beside her. Her eyes snapped up to meet Elsa's. The blonde girl was truly smiling at her now.

"Should we begin?" Elsa asked, hoping that making the potion would make this whole situation a little less awkward. Anna nodded. "Right, I'll go grab the ingredients and are you alright to prepare the workspace?" again Anna nodded and Elsa was happy to make a brief escape. In the supply closet, she took a few deep breaths before gathering the things that the book said she needed. When she returned, Anna had set up the cauldron and carving areas. Elsa placed the ingredients on their worktop.

To both girls' surprise, they found that they worked incredibly well together, as if they were in sync. Admittedly, yes, Anna did just follow Elsa's orders as if she were the queen, but honestly, if she hadn't then her potion might have exploded already.

As the two girls were both slicing up some of the ingredients, Elsa decided to try and create a conversation with Anna. "So, newt eyes _inside_ the walls? Do I even want to ask about that?"

Anna's cheeks flamed. "Well, you see, it wasn't my fault, not that faults are here to blame. Well, maybe I'm a little to blame." Anna caught Elsa's smirk and realised that she was rambling. "Well, last year, Kristoff, Merida and I tried to make Polyjuice potion in our free time and uh, well, something went wrong and it exploded everywhere and we got in so much trouble, like we had detention for months and I got a super angry howler from home because apparently, even at a wizarding school they write home to your parents." She finished in one breath, amazing Elsa at the fact that anyone could say so much, so fast in one breath.

Elsa tried to stay composed. _Conceal_, she thought to herself, but she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips, followed by another and another, until she was laughing so hard that she was doubled over and holding onto the worktop for support. She looked up at the other girl to find her pouting with a mock angry expression on her face. Elsa continued to giggle as she caught her breath. Finally she could speak again.

"That's awful." She tried to keep a serious face, but she couldn't keep the smile out of her voice.

Anna could honestly say that she had never seen Elsa show so much emotion. But she was glad that it was at her expense. The two got on surprisingly easily despite their awkward history, or lack of really. Anna smiled at Elsa, revelling in the fact that she was speaking to the other girl.

However, they were interrupted by a loud and bright explosion across from them. When the smoke cleared, both girls were confronted with a blackened Kristoff who had one hand still raised from when he dropped the ingredients into the now vaporised cauldron. To his right was a frazzled looking Merida who was staring wide eyed at where the cauldron had just been. Jack stood to his left, slightly further back, arms crossed over his chest and a smug smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"You see. I told you that the height from which you drop the ingredients matters." Elsa smirked at her best friend. He was even better at potions than she was.

Kristoff frowned and muttered something about stuck-up Slytherins before turning and going to the sink to, presumably, wash his face. Slughorn walked up behind Jack and muttered something in his ear which Jack just nodded to.

"Alright. Let's see who has the best looking potion. Unfortunately, Jack, Bjorgman and Dunbroch may have just let you down slightly." Slughorn moved around the other students, assessing their potions, from the steaming pot of black goo that actually tried to attack the potions master, courtesy of Hiccup Stoicsson, Astrid Berjastdottir and Hans Southernson, to the steaming cauldron of Eugene Fitzherbert and Rapunzel Corona, till he finally made his way over to Elsa and Anna. He glanced at the dark liquid, sniffing it slightly before moving on.

"Well, it looks like some of you haven't forgotten, Fitzherbert, Corona, Isen, Frost, Kongelig. But the others may think it wise to do some extra reading before next lesson. Now, off you go."

Anna wanted to squeal. She practically bounced over to Elsa, beaming. "I've never been commended in potions before. Never. Not once. Nada."

Elsa laughed lightly at Anna's behaviour and excitement. "Well, you're lucky you're working with me then." Elsa looked behind Anna to see Jack waiting for her. "I guess I'll see you next class. Charms, right?" Anna nodded before Elsa smiled at her. "Bye."

"Uh, bye Elsa." The blonde's lips tilted upwards once more before she joined Jack and left the room.

Anna stared at her as she left.

This year was definitely going to be interesting.

**So there it is. There is a little direction for this story, but if anyone wants to contribute, with acknowledgement, PM me. Also let me know what you thought of it in the reviews. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa and Jack spent their lunch break between potions and charms the same way that they always did, by the lakeside, experimenting with their magic. However, this time, Jack could barely contain his excitement for Elsa. He had known about her liking girls for nearly five years now. There was once a time when he had fancied the blonde-haired girl, but after that, he was happy to be her friend and help her to find the right girl. He had had very little luck, though, as Elsa kept very much within herself, only really allowing Jack in. but now, it looked like that was changing. Jack had watched as Anna made Elsa laugh until she was nearly crying. He hadn't seen her laugh that much for over a year. He was used to a giggle or chuckle and her smirk, but not laughing like that. What surprised Jack the most was the relief he felt. He thought that anyone else getting close to Elsa would make him jealous and scared of losing her as a friend, but he felt none of that. He worried about Elsa, enough to make the girl slap him if she ever found out the extent of his worry. But for the moment, she actually seemed happy. Not just content, happy. And lord knows she deserved it.

Elsa hummed quietly to herself, completely unaware of Jack's inner monologue. She withdrew her wand and breathed the words "wingardium leviosa' and watched as a stone rose into the air. The platinum blonde flicked her wrist, skinning the stone across the lake. It bounced five times before it sunk and Elsa leant back against the bench pleased with the spell. She had been trying to skim rocks with magic for about a week.

"So, you seemed to get on well with Fluffy Bunny…" Jack began.

Elsa snorted. "She's not around at the moment. You can call her Anna." Elsa still got amused at the code name that Jack had come up with for Anna in their fourth year.

Jack laughed at Elsa's avoidance of the question. "Fine. You and _Anna_ seemed to get in well…" The silver-haired boy was not oblivious to the blush that was rising to Elsa's cheeks. Elsa tried to think of something to say, but her thoughts had become so scrambled that she couldn't form even a simple sentence. All she could see in her mind's eye were those beautiful teal eyes. She sighed and looked out over the lake. Jack knew to let her gather her thoughts. After a few minutes of silence, Elsa managed to sort herself out.

"She really is something," she began, smiling as the redheaded girl's face popped into her mind again. Jack smiled at his best friend's words, glad that she had in fact opened up to him. "I don't know what it is, but being around her feels so natural, which is weird cause I've been avoiding her for years…"

"Maybe you two are meant to be?" Jack mused out loud.

Elsa shook her head. "No. there's no way that she could ever be interested in someone like me-" The blonde was cut off by a snowball to the side of her head. She knew only one other person who could do that. She turned her accusing gaze upon Jack was who was looking back at her fiercely.

"Say that one more time." He said darkly. Elsa rarely saw this side of him, usually when he was really angry or defending her. "Go on say it." He challenged. Elsa realised that he hated her talking like that. She budged closer to him and placed her hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. She knew Jack had no family, and that she was the closest thing that he had to someone. It was no wonder he hated hearing her speak like that. Jack's tensed body relaxed and the two of them stayed like that for a while before heading back for their next class.

…

When the two Slytherins reached the courtyard, they were presented with a situation that neither of them had expected to come across. That blonde Hufflepuff boy (what was his name? Kristoff?) was standing looking worried up at the clock tower.

"Anna this is a terrible idea." He shouted so that the redhead at the top could hear him. The other redhaired Gryffindor, Merida, came and stood beside the Hufflepuff.

"That's Eugene and Hiccup for you." She said, her Scottish accent lilting through her words. Neither of them had noticed the two Slytherins behind them.

Elsa looked up and saw Anna's head poke over the top of the clock tower. With a worried start, Elsa realised that Anna was _on top_ of the building.

"Oh come on guys. We've been practising this for ages." Anna's cheery voice carried down to her friends who didn't appear comforted by her words. Anna then seemed to notice Elsa and Jack behind her friends. "Hi Elsa." The redhead waved, causing Elsa to blush, Jack to smirk and Kristoff and Merida to spin around.

Elsa tentatively raised her hand back before Jack dragged her over to the others. "What's she doing?" he asked Merida, completely ignoring Kristoff. Elsa got the feeling that after potions this morning, Jack really didn't like Kristoff.

"Well," Merida began, "Eugene and Hiccup were learning this spell which softens landings from heights and Anna was interested and began learning it too and it looks like that they will be testing it out today…"

Elsa gasped and looked up. What was Anna doing? Why was she doing this? The blonde couldn't help but feel her heart constrict at the thought of Anna doing something so dangerous. She could make out three figures looking down. Anna and two guys that had been in her potions lesson. They seemed to be doing some sort of rock, paper, scissors hand gestures.

"No wonder none of them want to go first…" Merida muttered.

The four could only watch as Anna seemed to lose this game and the redhead took a step towards the edge. Elsa saw Kristoff looking around, hopefully for a professor to stop this madness, but then he raised a hand in the A-OK sign.

Anna withdrew her wand. She felt confident that she could do this, like a crazy trust exercise. And now that Elsa was here, she really wanted to impress the other girl. She recited the incantation one last time before stepping off the edge of the building. Immediately she waved her wand and said the spell but the ground was still rushing towards her too fast. She repeated herself and still nothing happened. _Oh god, I'm going to die_, she thought. She hadn't even thought that she wouldn't achieve this and now she was going to end up a great big grease spot on the courtyard floor. She braced herself for the impact and squeezed her eyes shut, but nothing happened.

Anna opened one eye a little to find herself faced with Kristoff and Merida, both looking like they might faint, and Elsa and Jack. Elsa had her wand out and pointed at Anna. The redhead felt her feet touch the ground before realisation hit her. Elsa had saved her life.

Upon seeing that she had stopped falling, Kristoff sunk to the ground, closely followed by a shaking Merida. Elsa stared wide-eyed at Anna, not believing what had just happened. A second after Anna had stepped from the building, Elsa had drawn her wand and had aimed it at Anna. She didn't know any spells that would save Anna directly so she had to improvise. Instinct made her use a complicated mixture of spells, but the thought of Anna dying spurred her on. Her heart was pounding unlike anything she had ever felt before. The platinum blonde girl lowered her wand with a shaking hand. Anna was staring at her and she was staring right back.

"You saved my life." Anna stated quietly, but as a shocked silence had descended upon everyone, her words could be heard clearly. Elsa had absolutely no words. She was so glad that Anna was alive and OK, but she couldn't even fathom why she would do something so stupid. But before she could answer, Anna crossed over to her and wrapped her arms around Elsa. The blonde girl froze, unused to physical contact on this level. She heard Jack's small sharp intake of breath. He knew that Elsa was not one for hugs and such, but as Elsa stood there in Anna's arms, she couldn't help but think about how _good_ it felt. Anna pulled away, leaving her hands on Elsa's forearms. "Thank you" she whispered.

Up close, Elsa could only stare into those hypnotising eyes. Eyes so full of emotion that the blonde thought she might drown. She was only faintly aware of Hiccup and Eugene rushing through the door to see if everything was alright, having opted out of jumping when Anna's fall failed. It seemed like their girlfriends, Astrid and Rapunzel, weren't too happy with them either, both giving the two boys an earful. But one thing stayed in Elsa's mind.

"Why would you do something so reckless?" she asked quietly, glad that her words couldn't be overheard.

Anna hesitated before answering. "My parents only wanted a son, so naturally, they were thrilled when they had my older brother, but they never planned for me. Kinda like the heir and the spare. It doesn't really matter what happens to me." Anna finished with a shrug.

Elsa's anger raged through her. How could Anna say such things about herself? How could she not see what Elsa saw? She was beginning to understand Jack's anger at her earlier.

"Don't say such things," the blonde spat before sharply turning out of Anna's grip and storming away, leaving the redhead confused. Why was Elsa so angry at her? What had she done?

…

Elsa and Jack sat side by side on a table of three in the charms room. Jack had heard what had happened and knew Elsa needed her space, mentally. He was a little shocked himself at what had happened. Sure he was reckless and carefree, but he would never actively try to kill himself. Most of the other students were here so when Professor Flitwick began the lesson, Jack wasn't surprised when Anna, Kristoff and Merida burst through the doors.

Anna looked around the room. Yes, there was a three seat table but she had already spoken to the other two and she went off and sat beside a very tense Elsa. Anna knew that she had to find out the truth about why the other girl was upset. She hated the thought of Elsa being mad at her.

Elsa didn't seem to acknowledge Anna's presence except for her tense shoulders as the platinum blonde had already began to take notes, her quill scratching against the parchment. Anna noticed, with some pleasure, how beautifully Elsa's words curled across the page.

"Elsa?" Anna whispered. No response. "Elsa can we talk? Please."

Elsa sighed. "Not now Anna."

"But why are you angry at me?"

Elsa's eyes finally met Anna's. "Because of what you did." She whispered angrily, careful not to draw Flitwick's attention. "How you think you mean nothing to the world, when you do…" Elsa realised what she said and amended with, "Everyone is a someone. What makes me angry is the fact that you don't realise this and will probably do something stupid again."

To say Anna was shocked would be an understatement. She wasn't aware that Elsa cared that much. "I'm sorry Elsa. I promise I won't do anything that stupid again."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

"But I can keep this one. For you. I-I mean, what are friends for? Right?"

Elsa looked at Anna for a little while taking in the desperate eyes and worried frown. Finally she sighed, glad for the promise. She smiled slightly, seeing the tension evaporate from Anna's body.

"Right."

**Don't forget to review.**


	3. Chapter 3

Anna could already tell that her seventh year was going to be unlike any other year at Hogwarts. For starters, there appeared to be less of a safety measure when it came to classes. Anna had heard some other Gryffindors saying how they had a duel in Defence Against the Dark Arts whilst Kristoff had heard from some Hufflepuffs that they had been tackling full-grown flesh-eating plants in Herbology.

However, there was something that wasn't unusual about this year. She already had a detention.

Apparently, the coast wasn't quite as clear as anyone thought when Anna had attempted the _Featherdrop_ charm. None other than Professor McGonagall had witnessed the whole thing, causing Gryffindor and Hufflepuff to lose twenty-five points each and for everyone present to get detention. Even Elsa and Jack. Elsa had received fifteen points to Slytherin for her quick actions, good use of spell casting and for saving Anna's life. However, because they was present and apparently seemed to be part of this reckless gang, Elsa and Jack were punished too.

Anna didn't know what Elsa thought of the whole situation; she hadn't seen her since Charms when they had made up. She did, however, know that Elsa had never had a detention before. The platinum blonde was very much the star pupil of the year, having never really put a foot wrong. She was smart, powerful, athletic, and very much a good witch. Anna knew she would be seeing Elsa in transfiguration this afternoon before the detention tonight. All she had been told was that she had to be at the main gates after dinner.

The redhead sighed and turned back to her book. At this time of the day, the library had very few people in it; mostly older students in the midst of their studies, even though at this point in the year, their studies had barely started.

Most of the Professors at Hogwarts would have been surprised to see Anna in the library this time in the morning by he own accord. And yet, here she was. The fall had kind of made her realise how important magic is. She had nearly died and she couldn't save herself. This was her last year at school where she was allowed to make rookie mistakes and she really had to improve. She knew that she wasn't the brightest student but she really wanted to get above an Exceeds Expectations in her N.E.W.T.s.

Anna sighed again, rereading her charms notes. She had actually concentrated after speaking to Elsa. She looked regretfully at her messy scrawl across the page, again thinking of Elsa's neat script. Why couldn't her writing be that nice? Or just nicer? Anna turned back to the large book before her, making notes about the theory of charms. God this was dull. She had hated it at O.W.L.s and now it was worse. But at least it took her mind off the girl who had been occupying it for a while now.

However, she could never keep her thoughts at bay for that long, but this time it was through no fault of hers.

A thick book slammed down onto the table, making Anna jump. She looked up, ready to shout at whoever was there, only to be confronted with Jack. And wherever Jack was, Elsa was sure to follow. Sure enough, the platinum blonde appeared with a large book in her arms. When her eyes landed on Anna, she paused briefly before smiling slightly. Anna, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at the other girl. Elsa usually well dressed for class, wearing her tie and jumper. But today she just wore her skirt, which revealed a lot of her legs (was it allowed for someone's legs to be that gorgeous?) and just a shirt rolled up to the sleeves. Anna tried to take her eyes off the few top buttons left undone revealing that beautiful porcelain skin. Anna realised that Elsa could really pull off the rugged look.

"So, Princess," Jack began, "I believe we owe you a detention…"

Anna blushed deeply. She had really hoped that they wouldn't bring it up, even if it was her fault. "I'm so sorry about that. It's not fair that you got detention too cause, like, you saved my life and all. I tried speaking to McGonagall but she was insistent that your punishment remains so that nobody would do anything like this ever again. Oh gods I'm rambling." Anna let her head drop into her hands, hoping to hide the blush that covered her entire face, hiding all of her freckles.

"Really? You talked to McGonagall?" Jack asked. Anna looked up at him to see a smirk plastered across his face and Elsa had an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Well, I was going to but you know what she's like… she wouldn't listen to anything I would say…"

Elsa snorted lightly whilst Jack grinned. Anna looked at the two of them before smiling. She realised that these two weren't being mean, but simply teasing her.

"So, you're not angry at me?"

Elsa laughed slightly. "Oh no. We are _so_ angry at you. Did you know that Jack and I have never had a detention before?" Elsa's unintentional sultry tone made Anna gulp.

"Uh, n-n-no…"

Elsa raised an eyebrow again. "Well, I guess we'll just have to make it up to you…"

Anna opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, causing Elsa's smirk to turn into a grin. The redhead wished that she could think of something smart to say, but her mind was slightly foggy, filled with Elsa's eyes, hair and even perfume.

"I, uh, have to work…" Anna said awkwardly. Anything to stop her from acting like a fool in front of Elsa.

"Well, don't let us stop you then, Princess." Jack laughed.

Anna turned back to her book when Jack sat opposite her and Elsa beside her. Their thighs brushed and Anna's breath hitched. She stole a glance at Elsa out of her peripherals only to see the other girl blushing profusely. The corners of the redhead's mouth tilted slightly as she focused back on her work. Surprisingly, working next to Elsa was not difficult at all. Just being in the blonde's presence was soothing. Being near Elsa stopped Anna from thinking about her constantly, allowing her mind to focus of the theory of charms.

Elsa honestly didn't know where her courage around Anna came from. It may or may not have been Jack constantly telling her to go for it with the cute redheaded girl. When her and Anna's thighs brushed, Elsa swore she nearly fainted. She had heard Anna's sharp intake of breath but didn't know what it meant. She tried to suppress her blush, but to no avail, opting to immerse herself within her work.

It had really been bothering her that there was no single spell that she could have used yesterday when Anna fell. Jack often said that the blonde girl was a serious perfectionist. Elsa opened the spell book and flicked through the index, looking for levitation spells. Her eyes scanned over countless spells before her eyes fell on one familiar one.

"Merlin's beard!" she exclaimed loudly, causing Anna and Jack to jump a mile and earning her a shush from the librarian.

"What the hell Elsa?" Jack whisper shouted at her to avoid being yelled at himself by the scary old librarian.

"Levicorpus!"

Anna and Jack both looked at her thinking the blonde had lost it. "Um, Elsa? What?" Anna carefully asked.

Elsa suddenly realised how embarrassing her little outburst had been. Her cheeks burned as she looked down, avoiding all eye contact, even with Jack. "uh, levicorpus is a levitation spell to be used specifically on humans. I, um, forgot about it yesterday…" she trailed off.

Just as Elsa was about to stand and leave when she couldn't stand their eyes on her anymore, she felt a warm hand on her thigh. Elsa's eyes snapped open and turned towards Anna. The younger girl was smiling softly at her.

"Don't sweat it." She said. For a second, Elsa had completely forgotten what Anna was on about. Her mind was still in overdrive with the redhead's hot hand on her thigh. "You saved me. That's what matters. I owe you my life." Anna smiled at her before removing her hand, suddenly aware that she had put her hand on Elsa's thigh. _Oh my god! I just touched her thigh. Oh my god! She must think I'm so weird. But she's so pretty!_

Anna glanced down, breaking eye contact with Elsa. Jack had watched the whole thing, completely unaware of Anna's hand placement. The silver-haired boy wondered what had happened in the last few minutes for the girls to suddenly become so embarrassed and awkward around each other. _Girls_, he thought. He would never understand them. He watched in bewilderment as both girls tried to edge away from one another without actually moving their chairs, avoiding eye contact and any other contact, by the looks of it.

Jack shrugged, returning his attention to his work. He couldn't believe Elsa had dragged him to the library at this time. He could've spent the morning in bed. He didn't have any lessons until after lunch but he, being the greatest friend that he was, had gone with the blonde girl to the library so that they could study. And honestly, Jack didn't really mind. He liked learning; one of the things that he and Elsa had bonded over all those years ago.

…

The three worked in silence for the next hour. Elsa couldn't bring herself to look at Anna and Anna was too embarrassed to even think about Elsa. However, both girls were brought out of their frozen state by Jack's seemingly overly loud voice.

"Yes! Lunch time." He stood, knowing Elsa would follow his lead. She was only too aware of his love of food.

Elsa did stand, closing her book and putting her quill and ink away into her bag. Anna, seeing that the other two were packing up, began to put her own things away. Truthfully, she knew her stomach was close to rumbling loudly and she wanted to avoid further embarrassment. Just as she swung her bag onto her shoulder along with the others, Kristoff and Merida appeared and made their way over to her.

"Is this where you've been all morning? Why the sudden urge to work?" Kristoff asked, unaware of how loud his voice was in the quiet library. The librarian glared at him but he didn't notice.

"Yeah, Anna," Merida chimed in, equally as loud as Kristoff. "We looked everywhere for you. If you weren't in the library we would have had to look in the Forbidden Forest…"

Anna blushed. "Come on guys, I told you I was going to the library today last night."

"Why on earth would you have had to look in the Forbidden Forest?" Jack asked.

Anna tried to motion to Merida to stop talking but either the curly redhead didn't see or chose to ignore her. "Well, it was our third year when Anna ran away-"

"Enough!" Anna's voice rang out. She really didn't need to be reminded of the past. She glared at the others before pushing through them, wanting to get away. She didn't want to cry in front of them.

Everyone stared after the girl. None of them had expected Anna to explode like that. Elsa had seen the shine of unshed tears in her eyes as she ran off. She was surprised that she felt physically upset about Anna being so sad about something. The blonde turned to the others, contemplating whether or not to go after Anna when she saw the regretful look in Merida's eyes and the angry look in Kristoff's eyes. Elsa had never seen the big blond guy look anything but pleasant but when he was angry, he was scary. Elsa made a mental note to keep Jack from confronting Kristoff.

"You pushed her too far." Kristoff said in a deadly calm voice.

Merida flinched at his tone and words. "I didn't even think. I swear I wasn't going to say too much. Even I wouldn't do that."

"You shouldn't have mentioned it at all. It was three days before we found her. Remember what happened? Anna won't be found unless she wants to be found." It was clear that Merida's words had not placated Kristoff at all.

Kristoff's words seemed to have scared Merida. Her face had paled as she looked at Kristoff. "We have to go after her before she goes too far," Merida seemed to remember Jack and Elsa were there too. "Oh, uh, sorry, but we have to go. See you in Transfiguration." Before either Jack or Elsa could answer, the Gryffindor girl and the Hufflepuff boy had departed.

"Well, that was weird." Jack said, partially to himself. Elsa looked over at him, a slight frown drawing her eyebrows together. "I mean what? Anna's like the cheeriest person ever…"

"The most damaged people often have the brightest smiles." Elsa replied quietly. Jack turned his eyes to her. They both knew the truth behind her words. The pain behind them.

Jack sighed. "You know, I'm not that hungry anymore…" Elsa looked at him. "Lake?"


	4. Chapter 4

Elsa and Jack got to Transfiguration just in time. They had spent an hour by the lake before rushing off to try and get some food when their hunger finally caught up to them. The two friends managed to get to their seats just as Professor McGonagall came in. Her sharp eyes swept around the room before landing on the empty space beside Kristoff and Merida. Elsa looked over and with a worried start she realised that Anna was not there. McGonagall frowned slightly at Merida who shook her head slightly. Obviously McGonagall knew that something had happened with Anna. McGonagall nodded once before turning back to the class.

"Good afternoon class. Today, we begin to look at shape-shifting…"

…

Elsa slumped into one of the more comfortable of the Slytherin sofas before a roaring fire. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to have dinner and go to bed with a good book. And then she remembered that she had detention this evening. And when she thought of her detention, she thought of Anna. The usually bright redhead had not turned up at all in Transfiguration. Kristoff and Merida had been unusually quiet and Elsa had barely managed to concentrate throughout the entire lesson.

Jack noticed Elsa's blank gaze and knew she was thinking about Anna. Again. Rather than letting her dwell on it, he walked over to the sofa Elsa was currently lying on, noticing that she hadn't noticed him. Then he dropped down, right on top of Elsa. The blonde girl burst into fits of giggles, trying to push the boy off her, but he was too heavy.

"Okay, okay, Jack. I get it." She laughed, slightly breathless from being crushed under the boy. Jack turned his head so that his eyes could meet hers. He raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. Elsa sighed. She hadn't wanted to vocalise her thoughts. "No more thinking before tonight."

Jack beamed and rolled off Elsa. She took an exaggerated deep breath to which Jack only rolled his eyes.

"Hello Elsa." A smooth voice sounded behind the two. Elsa turned to see Pitch Lestrange standing there.

Pitch was another seventh year who had taken a liking to Elsa in their third year. However, she could never and would never reciprocate his interest. He wasn't even attractive. His hair was black and his skin seemed a shade of grey. Not to mention the boy was a psychopath. He had a weird obsession with the three Unforgivable Curses. And with dark magic in general. Elsa sighed. She had successfully avoided Pitch so far this year.

"Pitch." She turned away from him, not wanting to meet his discomforting gaze.

"Oh come on now, Elsa, don't be like that. Don't be the Ice Queen that people say that you are." Elsa's head whipped towards Pitch. "Be with me."

Elsa suppressed a shiver. God, this guy was creepy. Jack was glaring at Pitch, but he himself was being ignored. Elsa had never told anyone but Jack about her sexuality for fear of rejection, but something made her snap now.

"Pitch, I've told you before, I will never be interested in you-"

"But why Elsa?"

"I'm gay."

Anything that Pitch was about to say froze in his mouth. Elsa would have found it funny how shocked he looked right now, if it weren't for her heart racing in her ears. It was a while before Pitch seemed to regain his senses.

"You're what?"

Jack stepped before Elsa. He hadn't even considered that Elsa would finally confess. And to _Pitch_ of all people. And now he had gone on full protective mode.

"Step back, Pitch." He warned.

"Or what? You'll do what? What can you possibly do, Jack Frost? Against _me_?"

Jack withdrew his wand but Elsa stepped between them. "Enough. Pitch. Leave now. There will never be an 'us'. Get over it." Elsa grabbed Jack's wrist and dragged him from the common room.

"Why did you tell him?" he asked when they had slowed down.

Elsa shrugged. "The only reason I kept it a secret was because I was scared that I would be alone. But it is just you and me anyway, so I have nothing to worry about."

"So you're not worried about what Pitch could do?"

"There is nothing he can do to hurt me…"

…

It was no surprise that Jack and Elsa arrived at their detention early. They had been told to not wear uniform so Jack wore his standard blue hoodie with a white frost pattern and light brown trousers. On his feet he wore high-top white converse. He, like Elsa, needed no jacket. Elsa, on the other hand, wasn't dressed too differently, years of being friends with Jack having rubbed off on her. She wore black skinny jeans and an ice blue silk shirt (her parents were large believers of dressing well) and she wore light grey Vans on her feet.

Jack looked at her again before laughing. "I still cannot believe that you are wearing a _silk shirt_ to detention."

Elsa glared at him. "It's casual for me."

Jack knew that but he couldn't help but tease Elsa further. "You have other casual things. Like those vests-"

"You expect me to wear a vest to detention?" Jack smirked but Elsa shook her head. "No, it would raise too many questions…"

Jack was about to tell her to get more clothes when the sound of footsteps stopped him. A blonde girl and a brunette boy rounded the corner. Elsa recognised them from their lessons. Elsa noticed the boy walked with a limp and saw he had one metal foot. So this was that Hufflepuff, Hiccup Stoicsson, one of the people that had been on the roof. He was known throughout the year because when he was twelve, he was attacked by a dragon and lost his foot. He was walking hand in hand with the blonde girl who Elsa assumed was his girlfriend, Astrid Berjastdottir, a Ravenclaw.

Jack edged closer to Elsa before mumbling "See? They're dressed practically."

Elsa paid attention to their clothes, noticing how Hiccup wore black trousers and tan hiking boots, or boot. On top he wore an olive green top underneath a sheepskin coat. Astrid, too, was dressed practically. She wore blue jeans with combat boots and a light grey pullover hoodie underneath an aviator jacket. Elsa elbowed Jack.

Hiccup looked over at them. "Uh, hi. Elsa and Jack right? Sorry about getting you detention."

Astrid laughed whilst both Jack and Elsa tried to hide their surprise at Hiccup knowing who they were.

"Honestly, you got _everyone_ in detention, moron." Astrid said affectionately, making Hiccup blush before kissing him on the cheek. Both Slytherins felt slightly uncomfortable with their public display of affection.

"Astrid, hey!" a voice called, sparing either Elsa or Jack from answering. All four of them turned to see a pretty Ravenclaw girl heading towards them.

"Hey, Tooth." Astrid greeted. The other girl was quite something to look at. Her hair was bright green and her eyes were purple.

'Tooth' stopped before Astrid. "Oh this is your detention, right?" Astrid nodded. Then the green-haired girl seemed to realise that there were two Slytherins were behind the couple. "Oh, hello."

Elsa smiled slightly and looked towards Jack who just smiled goofily at the other girl. Tooth blushed before bidding farewell to everyone, hurrying away, past the approaching Eugene, Rapunzel, Merida and Kristoff. Elsa noted with slight annoyance that they were all dressed "practically" as Jack had put it. Well, almost all of them. That girl, Rapunzel wore high waisted denim shorts with black tights and ballet pumps with a purple sweatshirt. The others, on the other hand, were dressed better. Rapunzel's boyfriend, Eugene wore brown trousers and black boots with a white v-neck and a blue fur-lined men's cardigan with brown patched elbows. Merida wore blue jeans with dark red Doc Martens with a dark blue hoodie with a gold inside and lining. Kristoff was dressed in black trousers and dark brown boots with a red plaid shirt and a grey beanie.

Kristoff looked over at the two Slytherins and raised an eyebrow at Elsa's attire. "Won't you be cold?"

Elsa shrugged, not wanting to speak with the other people there. She shouldn't even be there. She didn't belong in detention. Heels clacked against the stone floor as Professor McGonagall made her appearance. She looked at everyone there before speaking.

"As punishment tonight-"

Hurried footsteps stopped McGonagall. Elsa looked up to see Anna round the corner and the blonde tried to avoid staring at her. She was dressed in black skinny jeans that hugged her legs perfectly and a pink tank top that displayed quite a lot of her cleavage. Over that she wore a denim jacket and on her feet she wore pink and black converse. She smiled apologetically at McGonagall before moving to stand beside a thrilled Elsa, completely ignoring Merida and Kristoff. Judging by the shocked and hurt looks of her friends, they hadn't seen her all day.

"As I was saying, you will be helping Professor Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest." McGonagall finished, waiting for the seventh years to argue with her.

"The Forbidden Forest? What?" Kristoff asked, obviously unhappy with the choice of detention.

"Yes Mr Bjorgman. A fair punishment for such a reckless act." Nobody spoke. They all knew it was true. One of them had nearly died. But still, no one wanted to go into the Forbidden Forest. Especially at night. "Ah, Mr Filch. Please take these students to Hagrid's hut for their detention." The caretaker grunted before turning and walking out of the hall.

The cool night air hit Anna immediately and made her shiver. She looked over at Elsa and wondered how she was only wearing a silk shirt. The redhead couldn't stop herself from looking the other girl up and down. Again, Anna found herself appreciating Elsa's long legs. And her bust. God, that shirt hugged Elsa in all the right places.

"Are you cold?" Elsa's voice brought Anna's attention back, away from the blonde's body. She blushed when she realised that she had been staring. Luckily it was dark enough for her blush to remain hidden.

"A little." Anna wanted to say more, explain why she had stormed off earlier and not come to Transfiguration, but she couldn't find the words.

Elsa seemed to understand her loss of words. "So. The Forbidden Forest? You're going to really have to make it up to Jack and I…"

Anna laughed and gently shoulder bumped Elsa, unknowingly sending butterflies erupting through the blonde's stomach. "Well, until you know what you want from me, I shall be at your beckoning call."

Jack, who had come up behind them, laughed. "Oh I can think of _plenty_ for you to do-" He choked when Elsa elbowed him hard. She knew exactly what he was getting at. Anna chose not to question Jack because she didn't like his implying tone when he had said that.

"-the good old days when students were strung up by their thumbs for punishment." Filch was saying to nobody in particular. As they made their way over the crest of the hill, they saw a tall and broad form of a man waiting for them. "Hagrid, I have nine students here for you to use." He turned away, not caring about Hagrid's response.

"Righ'. We'll be goin' inter th' forest t' help th' centaurs. C'mon." the half-giant turned and began to make his way into the dense forest.

Anna's heart had almost stopped at the mention of centaurs. She unconsciously took a step closer to Elsa, feeling comforted by the taller girl's presence. Nobody spoke as they followed Hagrid through the trees to a clearing.

Elsa's mouth dropped open at the sight before her. Seven centaurs pawed at the ground as they watched the students approach. They were great beings. Half-horse and half human. They surveyed each and every student before them until their eyes landed on Anna. The centaur to the far right trotted forward until he stood before Anna.

"It is good to see you again, Young Anna." Elsa stared in shock at the girl beside her. How did the centaurs know her? "I can honestly say that you are looking better than when we last saw you. But tell me, how come you are helping Hagrid?"

The others could tell that Anna had visibly paled and Elsa was worried that she would faint. "Hi, Ronan. It's, uh, detention."

Surprisingly, the centaur before her laughed. "Such spirit. And we are glad to have you helping us."

Hagrid chose this moment to come in and explain the detention. "Righ' all o'yeh. There's been somethin' tha's hurtin' th' centaurs. Really yeh jus' need t' look for somethin' tha' seems out o'place. Uh, yeh two go t'gether," he pointed at Jack and Kristoff. "Yeh two." He pointed at Hiccup and Eugene. "Yeh two." He pointed towards Elsa and Anna. "And yeh three." He pointed at Rapunzel, Merida and Astrid. "Now go. If yeh find anythin' send up red sparks."

"What? Alone? Into the woods like this?" Kristoff nearly shouted. The others were thinking the same thing. Surely they wouldn't be sent out into the Forbidden Forest in pairs.

"Yer all seventh years. Yer'll be fine."

Jack looked so angry at being paired with Kristoff. He looked over to Elsa before mouthing 'good luck'. Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and pulled her away into the forest, not wanting to stay near the centaurs any longer. Elsa chose to let the redhead drag her away.

Anna stopped suddenly. She had no idea where they were. Elsa withdrew her wand and whispered 'lumos'. Light erupted from the tip and illuminated the dense trees around them. Anna did the same, feeling comforted by the light.

"So, we just walk around for a couple of hours? Was it too much to do this in the daylight?" Anna complained.

Elsa laughed. "Need I remind you that this is entirely your own fault?"

Anna grinned sheepishly. "What can I say? This was just an elaborate plan to spend more time with you." Both girls blushed when they realised what Anna had said. "Uh, which way do you want to go? We've got trees this way and, oh look, trees that way too?"

Elsa giggled. "Let's go this way. The trees look thinner over there." The two girls began to make their way in the direction of thinner trees, carefully stepping over protruding roots.

After a while of walking in silence, Anna felt like she owed Elsa some sort of explanation for her strange behaviour recently. "So, you must be wondering how the centaurs knew me…?"

Elsa looked over to see that sad expression on Anna's face again. "Well, it did cross my mind, but you don't have to tell me."

Anna smiled to herself at Elsa's care. "No. I feel like I owe it to you." Before Elsa could respond, Anna continued. "My brother, sister, mother and father were killed when I was thirteen. I ran away here but got lost. I would probably be dead if the centaurs hadn't found me."

Elsa stared at Anna. She would have never thought that something so horrible would have happened to somebody as nice and bright as Anna. The blonde could see tears threatening to spill over Anna's eyes. Anna did want to cry. Thinking about her family always made her sad, yet, telling Elsa felt like a weight had been taken off of her. That realisation made the tears come down. Elsa didn't know what to do when she saw Anna's tears. She had never been one for physical contact, but she still stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around Anna's quivering shoulders, letting the other girl cry into her.

Elsa was surprised at how warm Anna felt against her, especially when Anna wrapped her own arms around Elsa's waist. She smelt sweet, like honeysuckle, the blonde noted. Finally Anna pulled away.

"Thank you." She whispered before kissing Elsa's cheek briefly. Anna turned and continued on their way, leaving Elsa standing still, fingers raised to her cheek where she could still feel the warmth of Anna's lips. She smiled to herself, feeling butterflies of hope, and followed Anna.

…

Neither girl had spoken for a while as they continued walking through the dense forest. Elsa was still elated at the little kiss Anna had given her and Anna was still trying to get over kissing Elsa. She had been surprised when Elsa had hugged her, but she had loved it. Elsa had smelt amazing, like fresh pine needles. As they climbed a small rise, a foul smell hit their noses.

"Ugh." Anna wrinkled her nose.

Elsa frowned. Something was beginning to feel strange. Anna realised that she knew what that smell was. The metallic tang in the air was coppery. It was blood. Both girls raised their wands.

And then they saw it.

It was a stag, bigger than anything either of them had seen before. This was what that smell had come from. Anna felt sick as she looked at the beast's innards littering the floor around where it was, the more important internal organs missing. She stared into the blank, glassy eyes of the stag.

"We should leave." Elsa's voice brought Anna's attention back.

The redhead nodded and turned towards Elsa. She raised her wand and sent bright red sparks shooting up through the trees. Both girls just wanted to get away from the horrific sight before them. They began to make their way away from the stag when a twig snapped behind them.

Both girls spun, wands raised. There was nothing behind them. The light from Anna's wand shook slightly as fear began to cloud her mind. A chill descended upon her to her left and she looked over to see a large black cloaked thing behind Elsa.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out and the blonde turned to see the thing behind her. Quick as a flash, it backhanded her across the face, sending the blonde flying. She crashed into the ground hard and didn't move. Anna tried to run to her but was blocked by the cloaked thing. She raised her wand.

"Stupefy!" she cried. The spell hit it right in the chest, but had no effect.

Elsa groaned as she sat up. She looked over to see Anna against the thing, the redhead's eyes wide in fear. She had no idea what it was. She pushed herself up, ignoring the pain and rushed to grab her wand which had fallen a couple of meters away from her. She blinked to try and get rid of the blurriness in her vision.

But she was too late. Elsa watched in horror as the thing descended upon Anna and grabbed her by the shoulders. It then leant in, as if it was about to kiss her, but instead, it seemed to be sucking the life out of the other girl.

Anna had tried to scream but found she was frozen in terror. As the thing had gotten closer to her, she lost all hope in life. She thought to her family who had been so savagely murdered. She thought back to when she had run away and had nearly died. She thought of Elsa. The other girl would never be interested in someone like her. She saw how hopeless life was and succumbed to it. She let her wand drop to the ground as the thing that held her moved its hand to her throat. She barely registered the pain as it lifted her off the ground.

"Anna!" a voice shouted.

Anna moved her eyes from the hooded face of the thing before her to see Elsa racing towards her. Anna realised with a worry that there was a cut above the blonde's eye, leaving a trail of blood dripping down her face.

"Elsa?" she croaked, unable to breathe.

Elsa saw the light beginning to fade from Anna's eyes and knew that there was no time. Instead of raising her wand, she raised an empty hand and released everything within her. Ice shot out towards the thing and Anna in jagged waves. Elsa swept her arm in an upward motion, piercing the black thing straight through its chest, through its sides. It dropped Anna unceremoniously to the ground where she landed heavily and didn't move. Panic surged through Elsa, making her hold on her powers waver. She let her anger control her. _Feel_. She focused everything on the thing and froze it solid, trapping it within the great block of ice.

When Elsa knew it was not going anywhere, she sprinted over to Anna, dropping to her knees. Anna was cold, even to her touch, and her skin was white as snow. Elsa lifted Anna's head into her lap.

"Anna. Anna please, wake up. Please." She half sobbed. Without thinking, she leant down and kissed Anna's forehead.

She head footsteps approaching. She bent her body protectively over the other girl and raised her hand as Hagrid and the centaurs burst through the trees.

They all stopped short at the sight before them. Ice littered the area and there were shards rising and pointing outwards from the two girls in the middle of it all, one of them in the lap of the other who was leaning protectively over her, hand raised at them. There was a large block of ice which seemed to hold something big and black in it. With a start, Hagrid recognised it to be a Dementor. The centaurs seem to realise that one of the girls was Anna and the chestnut bodied one, Ronan, leapt over the wall of ice shards.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"That thing- I don't know- It's so fuzzy..."

The centaur saw that the other girl must have hit her head and her eyes were drooping. He gently picked both girls up before looking to Hagrid. Normally the centaurs would not get involved in human matters, but they all had a soft spot for Anna and now this girl who had so desperately tried to save her.

Elsa tried to stay awake as the centaur lifted her. She was only vaguely aware of Hagrid saying that this was a Dementor attack and that it looked like Anna didn't have much time. She tried to tell them to save Anna, but couldn't even open her mouth because the effort was too much. She was even less aware of the others reaching the clearing.

Jack shouted Elsa's name and Kristoff shouted Anna's, but neither girl heard, both having finally succumbed to the darkness.

**A/N: I know it's Pitch Black, but the Black family is related to the Lestrange family, so technically, Pitch is still Pitch Black. It's now come to me where this is going so I hope you all still enjoy it. Don't forget to review, I really like knowing what you all think of the story and what you think is going to happen. **


	5. Chapter 5

Elsa's eyes felt heavy, her head sluggish. With great effort, she pried them open slowly, only to shut them immediately due to the bright harsh light from the infirmary. _The infirmary_. How did she get here? Why was she here? She forced her slow mind back. There was Jack, laughing at her clothes. Why was he laughing? There were other people around them and then a flash of red hair. Elsa's eyes shot open, her pupils dilating in reaction to the light. Where was Anna? She remembered the attack. The hooded black thing that tried to kill Anna. With a jolt of dread, she remembered using her powers against it. But she couldn't remember anything else.

"Elsa?" a soft voice broke through her thoughts. Her blue eyes found the voice's source and met silver eyes.

"Jack."

The silver haired boy breathed a sigh of relief. He had barely left Elsa's side since she had been brought back here. Madam Pomfrey had said how her head injury had been fatal, but she could fix it, all Elsa needed was time. And she had had time. She had been unconscious for three days. He had managed to convince the teachers that he and Elsa had been practising ice magic from an old book in the library, and luckily they didn't seem to suspect anything.

Elsa tried to sit up, her a sharp pain through her temples stopped her.

"You shouldn't move." Jack said gently, hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving any more.

"What happened?"

Jack frowned. "Uh, well, there was a dementor attack. You and Anna were hurt pretty bad. I think you used your Ice…"

Elsa nodded before turning her head to look at the rest of the room. Further down there was another occupied bed. Elsa knew who it was by the red hair that was sprawled on the pillow. Anna seemed to still be unconscious and Kristoff and Merida were by her side, neither one of them speaking.

"Anna?"

"She still hasn't woken up. Madam Pomfrey said that she nearly died. The dementor nearly gave her the dementor's kiss. You saved her life…"

"But?"

"But not even Madam Pomfrey can tell if she will ever wake up. Her grandparents have been notified."

Elsa's heart felt heavy. Anna. That bubbly, bright, carefree girl was stuck in limbo. Elsa felt Jack take her hand. He knew that this would be hard for Elsa to deal with. Especially since the platinum blonde had just started to open up to the redhead. Elsa closed her eyes, hoping that this was a dream that she would wake up from, but her memories were coming back thick and fast now. She remembered how the light had left Anna's eyes. How she had fallen to the ground in a heap and hadn't moved again.

"Oh good, you're awake." The voice caused Elsa's eyes to reopen. Madam Pomfrey stood there, observing the girl before her. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, tired and my head's a little sore but I'll be fine."

Madam Pomfrey smiled slightly at the girl's strength. "Good. You may leave the infirmary tomorrow, but for now, I'm afraid, Mr Frost you will have to leave. Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn are on their way to speak with you about what happened."

Elsa nodded and looked at Jack. He looked like he wanted to protest, but she squeezed his hand lightly, enough to tell him that she would be fine. He knew she would. He knew how strong she actually was. Even though he knew that after everything with Anna, she was likely to push everyone away. But he was used to that.

"I'll be back later." He said before standing and walking out, stopping to look back at his best-friend one last time, glad that she had finally woken. He couldn't lose anyone else.

…

By the time the three professors had made it to the infirmary, Elsa was sitting up in bed, ready to receive them. Madam Pomfrey had drawn the curtains around her bed and had sent Kristoff and Merida out for a while. Elsa knew what the professors wanted to talk with her about, but wondered why there was such a need for secrecy.

Professor Dumbledore entered first, followed by the head of Gryffindor and the head of Slytherin. The headmaster sat in one of the chairs that Madam Pomfrey had brought out.

"Ah, Elsa, how are you feeling?" he asked kindly.

"A little shaken but I'll be fine, thank you sir." Elsa had never directly spoken to the headmaster and she was a little intimidated.

"Good, good. Now, I assume you know why we are here?" Elsa nodded slightly, ignoring the pain that the action brought to her head. "The dementor attack is unlike anything that we have seen before. We do not know why the creature was so far from its place in Azkaban but I assure you we are speaking with the ministry about it. I want you, however, to tell me everything that you remember."

Elsa nodded. She began by telling that it was a detention to help the centaurs and that she and Anna had been paired together. She went on to explain how they came across the body of the deer. The professors frowned with worry at this news, as if they had heard of things like this happening before. However, they didn't stop her and she continued to tell them how the dementor had appeared from nowhere after they had heard the twig snap and how it had gone straight for Anna. Elsa explained how she had tried to fight off the dementor but she feared that it was too late for Anna.

"So how did you fight the creature?" McGonagall asked.

Elsa saw the look in all three pairs of eyes. They were curious about the ice. But they couldn't know. "Well, Jack and I have been looking at ice magic in our spare time and I guess we've practicing it so much that it was the first thing that came to mind." The teachers seem placated with her words, unaware that she and Jack had come up with this story years ago when they had discovered that they both possessed the same powers over ice as the other.

"Do you know why the dementor went after Miss Kongelig?" McGonagall asked, not unkindly.

Elsa thought for a moment. "Well, I've only read about dementors in passing, but I think that they go for people with great sadness and trauma in their life and so they went for Anna…"

McGonagall nodded, as if she knew the answer all along, but wanted to see if Elsa knew. "Well, it seems like you have saved Anna twice now. Thank you." McGonagall said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed. There should definitely be a special reward for you, but for now, fifty points to Slytherin." Elsa forced a smile. Normally she cared about house points, but it didn't seem fair for Anna to still be suffering and to reward her.

Madam Pomfrey entered as Dumbledore stood. "Thank you for all of your help, Elsa. I hope that you feel better." With that the three left without another word.

"You should rest." Madam Pomfrey said monotonously. Elsa nodded. She was still tired from her ordeal. She would speak to Jack later.

…

Jack hadn't gone far. He was waiting in the courtyard a couple of corridors down from the infirmary. Elsa had seemed fragile, and he knew that telling her the bad news would hurt her even more, but it was his duty as a friend to tell her and warn her. He sighed and slumped against the monument in the courtyard, unaware of another presence until they were nearly in front of him.

Jack looked up and was met with green hair and purple eyes.

"Hi, uh Jack right?" the girl said, blushing slightly.

"Uh, yeah. Tooth right?"

Tooth smiled, revealing bright white straight teeth. "Yeah. It's actually Nancy, but Tooth is my surname and everyone calls me Tooth. I also prefer it. Oh my god, I'm rambling."

Jack smiled crookedly at this girl. She was adorable. "It's alright. I like Tooth." He mentally smacked himself. Could he have said something more stupid? All his time spent with Elsa had made him unable to speak with girls. Another thing that they both had in common.

"How's Elsa?" Tooth's smile had gone and had been replaced with a look of genuine worry.

Jack sighed. "She woke up today, but Dumbledore wants to speak to her so here I am."

Tooth smiled sadly. "You're a good boyfriend."

Jack's head snapped up. "What? No! Me and Elsa? No. She's my best friend."

Instantly Tooth perked up. "Really? Oh, um. That's cool. I guess I'll see you around, Jack." She smiled before leaving.

Jack grinned. He was going to thank Elsa so much for this. Jack saw Dumbledore, McGonagall and Slughorn walk past and stood, making his way back to the infirmary.

…

The next day, Elsa was getting ready to leave the infirmary when Jack appeared.

"Good morning Beautiful." He said cheerfully.

Elsa froze. She turned to him with an eyebrow raised, silently wondering if he had been hit in the head with _Confundus_ Charm. "What?"

"Can't I be happy to see my bestest friend up and healthy again?"

Elsa blinked at Jack. "What is wrong with you?" she asked worriedly, tilting her head to the side slightly.

Jack smiled before launching himself at the blonde and wrapping his arms around her. It lasted only a second, but Elsa remained frozen to the spot. Jack never hugged. "Who are you and what have you done with Jack Frost?"

Jack laughed. "Silly Elsa. I'm just really happy to see you." Elsa raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "And you may or may not be the reason that a girl is speaking to me." He finished sheepishly.

Elsa smirked. Only Jack would become super happy at something like this. "Is it that Tooth girl?" when Jack blushed but didn't answer, Elsa knew. "I'm happy for you Jack."

She turned to begin to leave the infirmary, but Jack's hand caught her arm. She turned to look at him, worry exploding through her stomach at Jack's suddenly serious expression.

"Elsa, there's something I need to tell you. You remember how you told Pitch that you were gay? Well he's told pretty much everyone. Most people don't care because it doesn't matter, but there are some, mostly his cronies, that might be a bit of trouble." He didn't need to say that they had already been harassing him.

Elsa sighed. "I guess I should have expected something like this. I guess I'll just avoid them even more now." She smiled at Jack before continuing out of the infirmary. She hadn't gone over to Anna's bed to check on the other girl. She couldn't bring herself to do it. To see the other girl so hurt. She still vaguely remembered holding her to her body after the attack.

Any thought of Anna was gone when she and Jack nearly bumped into Ursula Octosee. It was common knowledge that she was an avid follower of Pitch and had always hated Elsa for catching Pitch's attention. The Ravenclaw girl sneered at Elsa. She was really quite large and wore uniform that didn't quite fit, revealing more bulge than anything else. And her face was always plastered with makeup, turning her skin an almost purple colour. Today was no different as bright red lips sneered at Elsa.

"Oh look. It's Elsa." She laughed, causing the other boy who she was with to laugh harshly. What was his name? Gaston? Some dropout from Durmstrang. But Elsa had heard that he had been expelled. "I hope you don't come at me with your unnatural feelings." Gaston laughed harder.

"Who could ever possibly think of you in a romantic way?" Elsa spat back at her. "You look like too much sausage stuffed into a bag." Jack snorted and Ursula went even more purple in anger.

"How dare you, you filthy little dyke." She said, withdrawing her wand.

"Is there a problem?" all four students turned to see Professor Sprout walking towards them. Ursula quickly put her wand away.

"Not at all, Professor. I was just telling Elsa how brave she was for fighting off that dementor." Ursula's voice took on a sweet tinge, making Elsa want to flinch with every word.

"Ah yes. Well done Miss Isen. Everyone is impressed with how you single handily defeated it. Now hurry on, all of you, before you miss class." Spout shooed them off, Ursula and Gaston going in one direction whilst Jack and Elsa went in another.

The blonde sighed. Things were definitely going to get interesting now.

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	6. Chapter 6

Jack had been right. It was really only Pitch's friends and followers who were giving Elsa a hard time and she didn't care for them enough to let it bother her. She had always been good at concealing her feelings so it wasn't hard to ignore the staring at breakfast that Saturday.

The rest of the week had passed quickly. Without Anna in her lessons, Elsa had focused on her work and solely on her work. And because she had missed three days of lessons, she found herself in the library most of her spare time, trying to catch up on the work that she had missed. Of course, being her, she had managed that before the weekend, staying in the library late last night.

Elsa brought another spoonful of cereal to her mouth gracefully, her eyes not leaving the book she held in her other hand. Last night, when the library had been devoid of anyone else, including the librarian, Elsa had let herself into the restricted section and had found a book on Defence Against Magical Creatures. According to this book, there was a spell that could repel dementors and Elsa planned to test it out later that day. Of course, Jack knew everything that she was planning and wanted to help her too. Unbeknownst to Elsa, Jack was intent on never letting Elsa get hurt again, so he had to learn how to fight these creatures too.

Elsa's eyes finally tore away from the page to see Jack staring at the Ravenclaw table, again. She snorted lightly, causing Jack to look back over to her and blush.

"Why don't you go and talk to her?" she asked.

Jack was about to answer when something caught his eye. His eyebrow drew together in a frown and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. Elsa, noticing this, turned to see what had caught Jack so off guard and froze, herself.

Anna walked through the doors with Kristoff and Merida in tow. For the first time in days, Elsa properly saw Anna. The redhead was pale but there was the spark in her eyes again. Elsa watched Anna look around the Great Hall before her turquoise eyes fell upon the platinum blonde. There was something in the look Anna gave her, like she was desperate to speak with Elsa. However, as soon as she was noticed, all of Anna's friends ran over to her, obviously delighted that she was back. The rest of the Great Hall had pretty much gone silent. Everyone knew who Anna was from the stories that had been told about that night in detention. How she was attacked by a deadly creature and managed to fend it off single-handedly. Of course, Elsa wasn't going to correct anyone. The last thing she needed, or wanted, was for extra attention to be brought to her. It was bad enough with just Pitch.

Elsa turned away, not seeing the frown that creased Anna's eyebrows. Elsa's heart was pounding as memories flashed through her mind again. Of how she couldn't save Anna. She stood abruptly, her spoon clattering into her bowl.

"I'm going to see the thestrals." She said bluntly, closing her book and stepping out from the bench.

"Uh, do you want company?" Jack asked, confused by the sudden abruptness of Elsa, but he already knew the answer.

Elsa smiled at him slightly. "No thank you Jack. You should talk to Tooth though." She turned on her heel and left, keeping her head down as she hurried out.

…

Anna had not stopped looking at Elsa since she saw her. She really needed to speak to her, but by the looks of it, the blonde was pushing her away again. And not just her. Jack sat at the Slytherin table staring after Elsa, a worried look in his eyes. Anna sighed standing and excusing herself from her friends, claiming that she was tired at that she was going back to the common room for a bit, but she would say hi to Jack first. Anna walked over to him, aware of her friends' eyes on her back, but honestly, they were crowding her a bit. She needed to clear her mind about that night and she knew that the only other person who could help her was Elsa. There were some things that she remembered that were so strange that she was sure that she must have hallucinated them or something.

"Hey Jack." She said gently as she stopped by where he was sitting.

The silver haired boy's head snapped up and he stared at Anna in shock, surprised that she would even be talking to him before finding his voice. "Uh, hi, Anna. How are you feeling?"

"Better thanks. Look, I was wondering where I could find Elsa. I really have to talk to her."

Jack hesitated. He felt like he shouldn't tell Anna because Elsa wanted to be alone, but he also knew that Anna was the only way that Elsa would stop pushing people away. He looked up to the other girl and suddenly understood what Elsa had meant when she said that she couldn't resist those eyes. Jack sighed in defeat.

"She's gone to see the thestrals." He mumbled, knowing Elsa would know that it was him who told Anna where she was.

Anna brightened at hearing where Elsa was. "Thanks Jack. I won't tell her you told me." She rushed before hurrying out of the hall, unaware of Jack's laughter behind her.

…

Anna could see thestrals. She had been present when her great grandmother had passed when she had only been four years old. She did, however, wonder who Elsa had seen die for her to be able to see them. Personally, she liked thestrals. They were gentle creatures, shunned for how they looked, but she visited them from time to time, enjoying their company. So she knew exactly where Elsa had gone to avoid her.

Anna wouldn't deny her interest in the blonde. There was just something so familiar about her. Something that made her feel relaxed and happy. Even more so than her friends, and her friends meant the world to her.

It was a bright day, the sun shining through a thin layer of clouds. Anna made her way down towards the "safe" part of the forest, glad to be out in the fresh air. Being cooped up inside had never sat well with her. She liked being outside, something that most people didn't know about her. They assumed that she was a typical girly girl who didn't like to get her hands dirty, but only her close friends knew that she would always be the one to jump into any situation head first.

The clearing where the thestrals lived wasn't too far into the forest and Anna knew the path reasonably well, avoiding the large roots protruding from the ground, trying to trip up any unknowing passers by. Admittedly, it was through experience of falling over them that Anna had learnt to avoid them, but nobody had to know that.

Finally, she reached the clearing where the thestrals were and stopped short, her converse making no sound on the soft forest floor.

Elsa stood in the only patch of sunlight, and Anna stared transfixed as the dappled light cast an almost angelic light on her, creating a near-halo upon her platinum blonde hair. That hair that was once again done up in a sophisticated bun. _I wonder if she ever lets her hair down_, Anna wondered distractedly. The redhead couldn't stop herself looking at the clothes that the other girl was wearing. Anna had never seen Elsa look so casual. She wore her black skinny jeans and grey vans, but instead of the silk shirt that she had worn the night of the detention, she was wearing a slightly large dark grey top that had slipped off one shoulder, revealing the black bra beneath it. Suddenly Anna felt underdressed in the clothes that she was wearing. How Elsa could look so grand in simple casual clothes made Anna feel even more self-conscious about the clothes that she wore. She was just dressed in black leggings, her converse and an oversized faded blue hoodie. Her "invalid clothes" as Kristoff had called them.

Anna took another moment, considering whether or not to leave Elsa be and try and speak to her later, but she knew that this was probably the only time that she would have to speak with Elsa alone. She took a silent deep breath and stepped out into the clearing.

"Elsa?" she said quietly as she approached.

The blonde girl jumped slightly and spun around, shock clear on her face. "Anna? What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone panicked and she wrapped her arms around herself, taking a step back when Anna continued to approach.

"I came to talk with you." She said, suddenly aware that this wasn't the greatest idea of hers. But then were any of her ideas great? She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "I, uh, wanted to know how you are after the detention…"

"You wanted to know how I was? You were the one who nearly sucked face with a dementor." Instantly, Elsa regretted her words, turning away from Anna to hide her blush.

Instead, Anna laughed. She was glad that Elsa still felt comfortable enough around her to treat her so normally. "Yes, I know I'm just _that_ irresistible, but I remember you got whacked in the face by it."

Elsa smiled at Anna's light hearted tone and funny words before realisation hit her. She spun back to face the redhead who had gotten a lot closer than she thought. Again, Elsa took a step back. "You remember that night?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. She could feel the frost on the tips of her fingertips. She had tried so hard to keep it hidden.

"Sort of. Everything is kinda blurry, but I remember you trying to get to me." Suddenly Anna laughed.

"What?"

"Well, it sounds stupid, but I'm fairly sure I was hallucinating or something because I have this weird vague memory of you and a man made of ice, dancing together…" suddenly she blushed at the realisation of her words. How stupid was she to just tell Elsa that? She was so close to actually slapping herself but then a delicate laugh stopped her angry inner tirade at herself. She looked up to see Elsa giggling behind her hand. Anna felt the need to defend herself. "Well, it made sense at the time. And you weren't that good of a dancer anyway." She finished stubbornly, turning slightly from Elsa and crossing her arms over her chest, much like a child would do.

However, this only caused Elsa to giggle again. Anna didn't remember her powers. Elsa thanked any ethereal presence out there for that. "Oh Anna." She said fondly, feeling the tension slip from her shoulders.

Anna looked over at the other girl to see her smiling warmly at her. Elsa no longer seemed quite so tense as she had before, her arms no longer latched across her middle.

"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you. Everyone's told me how you managed to fight off the dementor and stop it from, well, uh, _kissing_ me. That's twice now you've saved my life." Again, Anna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling awkward at her gratitude.

"Well, someone's got to. You have a knack of getting yourself into sticky situations. But I'm glad that I was there both times." Elsa said, smiling brightly at the girl before her. Anna beamed back, glad that Elsa hadn't pushed her away.

A hot breath against the back of her neck caused her to turn to see a thestral standing right behind her. She knew this one, recognising it by the fact that it had the largest wings of all of the thestrals. This was the one that Anna usually brought something for and had affectionately named it Wings (and originally too, apparently).

The redhead reached up and stroked the tip of its nose lightly. "I'm sorry, Wings, I don't have anything for you today."

"Wings?"

Anna turned to see the blonde looking at her questioningly, one eyebrow raised slightly in amusement. "Well, that's the name I gave it. Because it has… wings?"

"How original." Elsa stated, taking a few steps till she was beside Anna, under the watchful gaze of Wings. "Well then, Wings it is a pleasure to meet you." She slowly raised a hand and let the creature smell her before attempting to touch it. She didn't want to frighten it off. After a moment, the creature inclined its head slightly and Elsa proceeded to stroke the tip of its nose. Anna smiled at the happy gleam that had appeared in Elsa's eyes. "They really are special creatures," Elsa said, partially to herself. "So harmless. So gentle. Everyone just avoids them because they're so-"

"Different." Anna finished for her.

A twig snapped behind the girls and they turned to see what had made the noise. Out from the trees stepped a marvellous creature. So white it was almost silver, four hooved feet slowly stepped into the clearing. Neither girl could move as they stared at the unicorn. Anna had heard that there were unicorns in the forest, but she had never thought that she would see one. It was big. Bigger than any book that Elsa had read had ever described them. It stood on equal height with the tallest thestral at around seven feet tall. The single horn that protruded from its head seemed to change colour in the light, sometimes appearing pale gold or pale purple or pale green, and yet, it always kept a hint of silver in it.

The great beast's nostrils flared as it caught the scent of two humans. Its head whipped towards the two girls who still stood still in shock. The unicorn tilted its head as it surveyed the girls, assessing whether or not they were dangerous. Unbeknownst to them, it was reading their hearts, seeing the light within them and the sadness that they both held.

Finally after what seemed like an age, the unicorn took a few tentative steps towards them. It stopped before Anna and touched its nose to her heart, before moving to Elsa. The great white creature moved its head down to touch its nose to her hands. When it looked back up, both girls knew what it had meant for them. Its eyes were so perceptive and wise. Then the beast snorted and bolted away back into the thick blanket of trees that surrounded them.

Neither girl moved for a while, both trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Finally it was Anna who spoke first, her soft voice sounding loud to her own ears.

"Did that really just happen?"

What she didn't expect, however, was for Elsa's arms to wrap around her shoulders and spinning her around. The blonde pulled away, her eyes bright with excitement, face flushed. "A unicorn! A unicorn was actually in front of us! It approached us! Do you know how rare that is?" Elsa gushed. Anna couldn't help but think how adorable the other girl was being about this.

"Well, Elsa, I never had you pegged as a unicorn girl." She laughed.

Elsa nudged her playfully. "Shut up. They are the most magical of creatures. Nobody knows the full extent of their power and no one has ever gotten close enough to a living one to find out." Elsa didn't even care that her nerd side was rearing its head. She hadn't been this excited about something since, well, ever. Anna just laughed, finding Elsa's enthusiasm contagious. "Come on!" she said, grabbing Anna's hand and pulling her back towards the castle. "I have to tell Jack!"

Anna let herself be pulled, marvelling in the fact that Elsa was touching her. Her hands were cold, but not unpleasantly so, more refreshingly. And they were so soft. The blonde girl's long fingers were still wrapped around Anna's wrist when they broke from the forest and began to make their way up the hill to the castle.

Just as they reached the crest of the hill, Elsa realised that she was still holding onto Anna and she released her immediately, blushing and bringing her arms around herself nervously. What if Anna thought she was some sort of weirdo now?

"So Elsa," Anna began, but suddenly found herself unsure of how to continue. "I was wondering if you wanted to, I dunno, do something tonight…" Elsa turned to face her, her face a mask of shock. "I mean, like bring Jack and Merida and Kristoff can come and we can hang out or something?" the redhead blushed.

"That sounds nice… oh."

"Oh?"

"Well, Jack and I found this spell to repel dementors and we were going to practice it tonight. I don't want a repeat of what happened the other night…"

Anna was silent for a moment and Elsa was scared that she had upset the other girl. "Actually that is a really good idea. I mean, if you don't mind, could I come along? I would like to learn how to defend myself…"

Elsa smiled shyly. "That's fine. Uh, bring your friends if you want. I can imagine that they wouldn't want anything like this happening to you again…"

Anna smiled. "It's a plan then. And you know what? I know the perfect place to practice."

**So you may or may not be able to tell that I am currently feeling slightly more motivated with this story…**

**Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone who has, favourite or/and followed it. And an even bigger thanks to anyone who has reviewed. I really do like reading reviews and knowing what you guys think. It honestly inspires me to write even more.**

**Also, for anyone interested, I have a tumblr page: WarriorOfTheIce.**

**Thanks and I hope that you are enjoying it.**

**And, as always, don't forget to review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I just want to thank everyone who likes this story and continues to read it. I'm sorry that chapters are inconsistent, but work is piling up so I'm doing what I can (which usually means writing at like 2am). A reminder that if anyone's interested, I do have a tumblr page: 'WarriorOfTheIce'.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

Jack tapped his foot impatiently. He rolled his head to the side to look at Elsa _again_. The silver-haired Slytherin had been reading in the common room when the platinum blonde had burst into the room, rambling about a unicorn that had come to her. At first, he had thought that she had finally lost it. He knew that she liked unicorns, but to actually see one was rare. After he had managed to calm her down, Jack made Elsa start from the beginning, letting her tell him exactly what had happened since she had gone to see the thestrals.

And now, he found himself waiting by the One-Eyed Witch statue with Elsa for the others. When he had asked who the others were exactly, Elsa had sheepishly replied that she didn't actually know. She had only said that Anna wanted to learn this spell too and that she would be bringing her friends with her. And apparently Elsa didn't even know where they were going, again saying that Anna knew but refused to tell. He couldn't even be annoyed at her though. She was so excited about the unicorn. He hadn't seen her that happy since… well, ever. He was increasingly sure that Anna was good for her.

"Did you speak to Tooth?" the softly spoken question caused Jack to blush.

"I, uh-" he began, blush intensifying.

"Elsa! Jack!" an energetic voice called. Jack breathed a sigh of relief whilst Elsa raised a curious eyebrow. He could wait another few hours before telling Elsa that he couldn't find the courage to speak with the green haired girl.

"Anna, hey," he said happily. He was, however, surprised when Anna wrapped her arms around him in a hug before hugging Elsa in greeting too. Jack looked behind the redhead to see who had joined them. He wasn't in the least surprised at the presence of Kristoff and Merida. Those three were about as inseparable as he and Elsa were.

"Right, shall we?" Anna asked chirpily, her eyes making contact with everyone there.

"Lead the way…" Elsa motioned to Anna to begin.

Anna smiled and started walking down the corridor towards the staircase. From there, the redhead climbed four flights before coming to the seventh floor. Here she paused, thinking. She knew where she had to go, but she had never been too good with her lefts and her rights. She discreetly made 'L's with her thumbs and index fingers on both hands and followed the direction to the now-clear left. Finally after what felt like an hour, possibly it felt longer because she worried that she had taken the wrong turn, but they came upon a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls how to dance. She had always found that tapestry funny.

"Ok," she turned to the others who were looking at her in expectation. "We're here." Anna smiled nervously at the others who looked around them in confusion.

Kristoff cleared his throat. "Where is _here_ exactly?" asking the question that was on everyone's minds.

"The Room That Cannot Be Found." The redhead answered confidently.

"_The Room That Cannot Be Found_?" Jack asked incredulously. "How exactly are we going to get into a room that can't be found?"

"Well, the room presents itself to those who need it for whatever reason, I think…" Anna tried to make the doubting faces around her understand.

"The Room of Requirement." Elsa realised. "You found the Room of Requirement?"

"Um, maybe? All I know is that it's here and-" Her words were caught by a scraping. It sounded like stone scraping against stone, causing the hairs on Anna's arms to rise in response to the noise. Behind her, the wall was slowly morphing into a door that resembled a broom cupboard door. Anna bit her lip nervously, hoping that she wasn't about to be embarrassed. She stepped up to the door and opened it, peeking her head in.

Elsa watched as Anna poked her head into this room that had just appeared and then the redhead had entered. The others stood for a moment, confused as to why the redhead had entered a broom cupboard, but Elsa decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, following Anna and was shocked to find a massive room behind the door.

The room was incredibly large with a high ceiling and was bare, save for a couple of bean-bag like chairs along the walls. The walls were in fact all mirrored too. In the middle of the room stood Anna, being reflected in every direction. Her mouth was opened slightly in awe as she looked around the room. It was perfect for them to practice spells. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Elsa with much the same expression of wonder. Finally the Slytherin's blue eyes moved down to Anna's teal ones as a smile broke out onto her face.

By this point, the others had all walked in and had closed the door behind them. Their faces were priceless and Anna couldn't help but feel a smug smirk start to pull at her features. For the first time in a long time, she had done something right independently. She looked back to Elsa who was still staring at her and Anna walked over to the bean-bags by the wall and dragged a few of them, with Elsa's help, to the centre of the room. She wanted to sit on them to make this whole thing feel less formal and nerve-wracking. Finally, she motioned for the blonde to take the lead.

Elsa nodded and sat beside Anna who had plopped down into the large bean-bag. The movement caused the other three to look at her, making her feel slightly nervous, but she knew them and tried to conceal her fear. Jack came and sat beside her, followed by Merida who sat beside Jack and finally Kristoff who sat between Merida and Anna.

"So, I'm assuming that you know why you're here. Because Anna was attacked by a dementor and I didn't have a clue what to do. It made me feel weak and helpless and I want to be able to fight off creatures that mean harm." The others were nodding and Anna's eyes were trained on her hands that were playing with the cuffs of the hoodie in her lap, picking at a stray thread as she tried to fight the fear that was building inside that reared its head whenever she thought of that night. Elsa continued, however, continued, pulling out the book and opening onto a page which she had bookmarked. "In this book, I have found a spell that is meant to repel dementors. Although Professor Dumbledore said that this was a one-time attack, I still think that it's best to be prepared. The book says:

_When fighting a Dementor, remember to not give into your deepest sadness. Think of the light and remember the happy times and then say this incantation._

_Expecto Patronum._

_A patronus is a representation of our inner selves. Our light. They show your deepest love and will protect you from the foul creatures. A patronus can take any form, but it will be personal to the person who casts it."_

Elsa looked up from the book. Honestly, it sounded simple enough, but for it to have not been taught in lessons and to be from a book that had been in the restricted section of the library, she highly doubted its simplicity.

Anna, who was still trying to quell her fear, stood abruptly, startling everyone slightly.

"Right. Should we get started?" she asked, hiding behind her bubbly personality. It was usually what she did whenever she felt her anxiety flaring up.

Kristoff laughed and followed suit. "Calm down, Fiesty-Pants. We have time." He chuckled. Anna blushed but moved off to a part of the room anyway.

The others followed their lead. Elsa stopped a couple of metres from Anna and looked over at the redhead. She seemed to be deep in thought, her eyes snapped shut and her eyebrows drawn together in concentration. _She looks adorable_, Elsa thought. Elsa eyes then moved across the room to Kristoff. He was flailing his wand around, saying _Expecto Patronum_ over and over. The platinum blonde realised what Anna was doing. She was thinking of a happy memory. Something that would help her cast her spell. She hadn't even taken her wand out yet.

It was strange how when you wanted a good memory, you could never find one, but when you were in a deadly serious situation, all that came to you were good memories. Well, that was the case for Anna anyway. It probably didn't help that she was still trying to suppress her anxiety. She could feel someone's eyes watching her and she opened her own to see Elsa now mirroring her previous position and expression.

Looking upon the Slytherin, Anna felt the knot within her loosen slightly. It gave her an idea that maybe Elsa, or at least a memory with Elsa could make this spell work. She thought back to all the contact that they had had together: how they sat with one another in potions, how Elsa had saved her life, how it felt to kiss Elsa's cheek, the unicorn… without even realising it, Anna's tension went away to be replaced with a warm feeling in her chest.

Almost in a trance-like state, she reached within her hoodie pocket and withdrew her wand. Still lost in thoughts of the girl beside her, she raised her wand and thought the words before saying them.

"Expecto Patronum!" she said confidently. For half a heartbeat, nothing happened and then a great silver light poured from the tip of her wand. The light seemed to curl and twist over itself, almost until it became a solid. From this ball of pulsing light a paw gingerly stepped out. It was followed by a snout and the rest of its body. Finally the light had changed into the unmistakable shape of a wolf. Anna was unaware of the amazed eyes of everyone else in the room on her and her patronus. Instead, she watched as the wolf lazily circled her in a defensive manner, almost as if it was searching for some kind of danger.

Elsa smiled brightly at the sight. Anna was a really promising witch. So much more than she gave herself credit for. She had seen Anna's little way of telling left from right earlier and the thought of such an adorable action made Elsa's heart swell. With that thought, she herself raised her wand and said the incantation. She watched in amazement as a beautiful and sleek animal pounced out from the tip. The snow leopard landed gracefully, its tail swishing as, like Anna's patronus, it sought out any immediate danger. Elsa smiled as it started prowling around one it realised there was no danger. As Elsa raised her wand slightly, she found that the partonus would rise as well, not being confined to the ground like most were.

"Expecto Patronum!" Jack's voice tore her eyes from the big cat to see a smaller animal spring from Jack's wand in that distinctive silvery light. Both Slytherins watched as the light morphed into an animal smaller that Elsa's or Anna's, but just as fitting. At first, Elsa thought it was a rabbit, but then it became more defined and began hopping around Jack's head, his silver eyes wide with amazement as he watched it. It was an arctic hare. Elsa wasn't really surprised that both her and Jack's partonuses were winter animals. And actually, when she thought about it, Jack's personality perfectly suited a playful arctic hare.

Elsa looked over to where Merida and Kristoff were. The Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff were both struggling with the spell, but that was to be expected. She was honestly surprised that she, Jack and Anna had managed it on their first try.

Elsa turned back to Anna just as the redhead released the spell. The effects were instant. A sudden depletion of her energy caused her knees to give way, forcing Anna to her knees. Immediately Elsa released her own patronus charm and rushed to Anna's side, worriedly saying her name, and was quickly followed by the others.

"I'm fine." Anna said, aware that the others were crowding her slightly.

"No. You're not." Elsa said. She pointed to Anna's hands. "Look. You're shaking really badly." It was true. The redhead's hands were shaking so much that she had to make the conscious effort to keep a hold of her wand.

Anna felt the happiness of the spell wear off her, leaving the anxiety and fear that she was trying to suppress. The shaking got worse. "It might have been a bit much for me after everything. That's all." She looked up at the others, trying to convince them, but to little avail. Her voice was now shaking as bad as her hands.

Elsa stood and walked away. Anna felt her heart plummet. She was weak. Elsa didn't deserve to be with someone weak like her. However, just as she was about to succumb to these thoughts, a soft hand on her shoulder caused her to look up. Elsa was back kneeling beside her. In her hands she held a simple bar of chocolate.

"Here." She said kindly, snapping a few blocks off and giving to Anna. The redhead nibbled it, savouring in the creamy taste that she loved. "Feel better?" Anna nodded and accepted a bit more chocolate from Elsa before she noticed that the blonde was giving it to the others as well. She plopped a square of it in her own mouth before continuing. "The patronus charm takes a lot of energy out of the caster so chocolate is recommended to be consumed afterwards until the caster is used to producing the spell."

The others nodded, tension melting off them as their worry for Anna decrease slightly. Anna, on the other hand, remained quiet. Since the dementor attack she had felt weak and vulnerable. Almost empty as well. She sighed before shakily pushing herself to her feet, only to be assisted by Kristoff.

"I think that's all I can manage for today. Can we maybe try again in a few days?" the others smiled. That was Anna. Always trying so hard for better results. She was stubborn, but in the good way. The others agreed that it would be best for them to wait a while before trying again.

Elsa looked at her watch and was surprised to see that they had been in there for two hours. She knew that no one would be missing her and Jack, but someone, somewhere, was probably looking for Anna. Elsa looked over to the redhead, only to see that spark of light barely flickering in her normally-brilliantly bright eyes. Something was bothering Anna and she was hiding it from everyone. Elsa frowned and Anna finally looked up, her eyes meeting Elsa's. For a moment, Anna considered confiding in Elsa, but she decided against it. Instead she smiled brightly at the blonde girl. The smile looked so genuine that Elsa thought for a second that Anna was in fact fine, but the lack of light within her eyes made her realise that Anna was used to putting a front on. Still, rather than pushing her, she smiled back. She hoped that Anna would tell her within her own time.

When the five of them had finally exited the room, the wall behind them swallowed the door, going back to looking like a regular corridor wall again. Elsa turned to the others.

"Well, thanks for joining us. I, uh, we'll see you later." Anna hugged her again before smiling at the pair of them. Elsa smiled before turning with Jack, who gave a small wave of farewell, and walking towards the Slytherin common room.

There were questions spiralling around Elsa's head though, making her feel unsettled;

_What was upsetting Anna?_

_How did she know about the Room of Requirement?_

_What would happen if she found out the truth about her?_

**Thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought in the reviews. **

**I will now be answering reviews so…**

**PascalDragon**** asked when abouts within the Harry Potter world was this set, and honestly, it's not. I'm just using my favourite professors (also because it's still too soon to talk about Snape and Dumbledore's fates). **

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	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry that it has taken so long to update. Thank you for being patient. I hope it was worth the wait.**

She watched helpless as the lipless mouth slowly drew closer. She was immobilized by fear as the creature that had long since invaded her personal space hissed. She could smell the foul stench that was radiating from its entire being. And not just the smell. It was so cold. She wouldn't have been surprised if she had freeze burns after this. She could feel the cold seeping through her, starting from where the thing held her, travelling quickly to her heart. Wherever the cold went, a darkness within her followed. It was like a weight upon her, it was so strong.

Anna's vision blurred and she forced herself to stay conscious. She didn't want to see what this thing was about to do, but the thought of closing her eyes and succumbing to it scared her more. She knew it was going to kill her, but if she remained conscious then at least she could prepare herself for her fate.

Anna felt her heart rate slow and she no longer cared for her fate. With one last look at the hooded creature, she let her eyes close.

…

Anna sat straight up in her bed, her pyjamas sticking to her in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was quick and laboured, as if she had been running. Her eyes darted around, searching for the creature from her dream. The _dementor_. What the redhead didn't expect, though, was to see another pair of eyes staring worriedly at her.

Merida wasn't usually a light sleeper which was why she was surprised when she woke up from the small whimper that came from the bed across the room. Anna's bed. At first it had been a small whimper. But then Anna had softly cried out. That was what had alerted Merida to the fact that something was really wrong with the other redheaded Gryffindor. The cry had been soft because it had sounded like she had given up. That was what scared the Scottish girl. Anna _never_ gave up. On anything.

"Anna?" Merida spoke quietly for two reasons; to not wake up the rest of the dorm and to not startle the other girl further. Upon hearing her name, Anna's eyes flicked up to Merida, but there was no recognition within them. Whatever Anna was dreaming about, she was still trapped within her own mind.

Merida slowly threw the covers off herself and padded over to Anna who watched her wearily. She still didn't know who she was. She was still calculating her with her teal eyes.

"Anna, it's me, Merida. Remember?" there was still suspicion within Anna's eyes and Merida took another step towards the other girl. She really wished that Kristoff or even Professor McGonagall was there to help her. "Anna, you're safe. It was just a bad dream."

That seemed to do it. Anna's eyes suddenly filled with tears and she dropped her head to her knees which she had drawn up into her body. Her whole frame wracked with sobs. Merida closed the distance to her friend and wrapped her arms around the other girl. She felt so small that it broke Merida's heart. Anna never cried. She always ended up hurting herself in one way or another and never cried about it. The only thing that made Anna cry was thinking about her family. Had her dream been about them?

The Scottish redhead had never really been one for too much affection, but since she and Anna had become friends, she was glad to offer it to Anna now. Merida held Anna close to her, letting the other girl cry. Gradually the sobs lessened to a sniffle and then to nothing. Merida thought Anna had fallen back to sleep when she detached herself from the Scot's arms.

Anna now understood. That emptiness was gone. That fear was gone. That vulnerability was gone. She had allowed that weight to consume her. The darkness from the creature. She knew it was no normal dementor. There was something more morbid about it. But was she going to tell the others that? Of course not. They wouldn't understand that it's for her own good to be like this. The thought brought a smile to her face, but not her usual smile. A dark smirk graced her features, looking out of place on her normally innocent face.

Merida could only see the back of Anna's head, but her silence said more than any words could. Anna would normally be thanking Merida and apologising for keeping her awake, but there was still something wrong with her. When Anna finally turned around to face the Scottish girl, Merida felt chills run up her spine. There was a blankness to Anna's gaze. A deadness to her eyes. The usual light that Anna's eyes held was gone. Replaced with a look that made Merida want to run from the other girl. Maybe it was because she had spent so long with Anna's kindness that this coldness scared her. No, not scared her. Terrified her.

"Thank you, Merida." Anna spoke softly, but there was a confidence to her words that caused further worry within Merida.

For the first time in their friendship, Merida did not want to be alone with Anna, and although the dorm wasn't just the two of them, Merida felt scared. So rather than confronting Anna about it, she decided to let it be for tonight.

"Right, well, I'm here if you need anything. Try and get some more sleep." She forced a smile to her face and walked back to her bed, trying to ignore the feeling of Anna's empty gaze boring into her back. She subtly withdrew her wand and placed it underneath her pillow. Just in case.

…

Merida rubbed her eyes tiredly, stifling a yawn. She had barely slept since the whole Anna incident. Anna had gone back to sleep, but Merida couldn't quell this uneasy feeling deep within her that something was terribly wrong with Anna. Anna had gotten up at the crack of dawn, dressed and left. Anna never woke up early. It was like she had an inability to.

And that was why Merida had sent the note around, telling the others to meet her on the bridge on the way to Hagrid's hut immediately.

"Hey Merida." Kristoff's familiar voice brought Merida out of her thoughts. She smiled half-heartedly at the blond boy who picked up on her mood straight away. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"We'll wait for the others. I really don't want to repeat what I am about to say." Kristoff frowned but knew there was no point in trying to push Merida to speak. Whatever it was though, it was bad.

Soon after Kristoff had appeared, Elsa and Jack were making their way down the bridge to where the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff were waiting, and behind them, Eugene and Rapunzel followed. Elsa had no idea why Merida had wanted to speak to her and Jack, but the two had decided it was best to go anyway, just in case.

Merida looked around at the others. "Right, well-"

"Wait, shouldn't we wait for Anna?" Kristoff interrupted, saying what everyone was thinking.

Elsa watched with rising alarm that the mention of Anna seemed to distress Merida. "That's why you're here actually." Everyone waited with bated breaths for Merida to continue. "I think that there's something wrong with Anna." She blurted, silently cursing herself for not being for articulate. She had planned what she was going to say, but her emotions had won over her causing her to just say it.

"What do you mean _something's wrong with Anna_?" Elsa asked coldly. Suddenly Merida realised that she never wanted to be on this girl's bad side.

"Something happened last night. She was having a nightmare and when she woke up she burst out crying and when she had calmed down she was like all different and, well, it scared me."

Jack frowned. "Maybe she was just a little out of it from her dream?"

"Anna never cries." Kristoff said, his eyes gazing far away. He felt cold all over. He knew that Merida wouldn't have brought this up if she wasn't that worried about Anna, but he could tell how much this was distressing the Scottish girl.

Elsa tried not to think about when Anna cried in the forest. If Anna never cried then maybe her family was the only thing that caused her to be so upset. "She has seemed a little distant since the dementor attack." She said softly.

Merida and Kristoff looked at one another. "You noticed it too." Kristoff said solemnly. He and Merida had spoken quietly about it between themselves, but hearing someone else say it drilled it home that there was something wrong with his feisty pants.

"But what could it be? It can't be related to what happened four years ago." Rapunzel looked as worried as Elsa felt. The platinum blonde wondered for a moment why the short haired brunette seemed to care so much.

"Rapunzel, you've known her the longest. You were there at the funeral. Does anything about the way that she is acting now resemble how she was back then?" Merida asked.

Rapunzel thought for a moment. "I remember that she was kinda distant for a few months, but it took time for her to get back to normal. Well, as normal as she could get. All of my family kept an eye on her."

_Of course,_ thought Elsa. _Rapunzel is Anna's cousin. That's why she's here and why she seems so worried_. "Maybe we should actually speak to Anna. See what she says." She suggested. Really she just wanted to see Anna herself and see that she was alright. The thought of Anna not being the adorable, energetic, bubbly girl that she liked was horrible.

Rapunzel nodded. "I agree. If something's really wrong with Anna then we have to find out. And until we all speak to her there's nothing we can do." Eugene took her hand, squeezing it, letting Rapunzel know that everything would be alright.

Merida looked at everyone. "Right. Now all we have to do is find her."

…

Anna shut the door behind her. She had spent the morning in the Room of Requirement, looking at all of the discarded and dangerous objects in there, from mischievous pixies who she had used for target practise to the old books that had been discontinued due to their content. She knew that Merida had seen her leave that morning and that she was probably talking about her with Kristoff. But she didn't care. Why should she? She had better things to do. Anna had been reading an old book about summoning spirits that she had found in the Room of Requirement. She didn't know why she was drawn to that book but she had suddenly found a deep interest in black magic.

Something else that she had noticed were her veins. The web of veins on her left wrist had gone from purple to black, very slowly spreading to her hand and up her arm. She knew that she would have been worried about it a week ago, but now, she only saw it as power.

"-such a filthy little dyke." Anna stopped and cocked her head slightly, trying to work out where that voice had come from. "I mean Elsa has always been weird but now it makes sense." Laughter followed the words that Anna had now located came from Pitch Lestrange.

An unexpected rage surged through Anna. "What did you just say?" she said coldly, approaching the gang of students who were loitering by the staircase. She recognised them. There was Pitch Lestrange in the middle of them all. Ursula Octosee was there with Gaston Debouche and Leonides something, but everyone called him 'Scar' due to the scar that marred his left eye. And then finally there was Doc Faciliar Shadowman. These were not students that people should mess with. Luckily, Anna was not people.

"Oh look. It's the little damsel in distress." Pitch laughed. "Tell me. What's more embarrassing, trying to be kissed by a dementor or being saved by a dyke?" everyone laughed. Everyone except Anna who stood there blank faced, letting the rage within her build. "What's the problem? Dementor got your tongue?" More laughter.

"Say it one more time. Go on. I _dare_ you." Venom dripped from Anna's words, causing the others to stop laughing.

"Oh would you look at that. The little damsel has a bark. Be careful. I've got a bite." Pitch faced Anna. "Why would you defend a little dyke like Elsa anyway? Unless, of course, you yourself are a dyke." The others laughed and jeered at Anna.

Anna's wand was out in the blink of an eye and pointed directly at Pitch's face. All laughter stopped and Pitch's friends all stood, ready to fight. "You're not the only one with a bite, Lestrange."

Pitch had reached for his wand and flicked it at Anna muttering 'ventus'. The spell caught Anna slightly off guard and sent her flying backwards and casing her to fall down the first flight of stairs. Pain shot through Anna as she crashed to the bottom of the hard stone stairs. Immediately students came to see what was happening. Anna didn't care though. How dare Pitch attack her first! She growled slightly as she pushed herself up from the stairs, grabbing her wand in the process. She ignored the feeling of hot blood running down from where her skin had split on her hairline and she ignored the deep pain that had come from hitting so many stairs.

Pitch was standing at the top of the stairs looking down on Anna. He raised his wand.

"Stupefy!" he shot the stunning spell at Anna who blocked it with a simple shielding spell.

Before Pitch could cast another spell, Anna flicked her wand in his direction, muttering "Slugulus eructo". The spell hit Pitch square in the chest, knocking him back a few steps. He stared at Anna angrily before leaping down a few steps towards the redhead. He raised his wand and opened his mouth to cast a more powerful spell, but no words came out. Instead, there was something in his throat. He bent over and retched. Over and over until a large slug came out of his mouth. He stared at it in horror before his eyes moved up to Anna who stood there smirking.

She was a Gryffindor. Why was she so smug about this? He had heard about her and this seemed so out of character for her. Unless…? No it wasn't possible, was it? That had to be why. Pitch opened his mouth to curse Anna, but more slugs bubbled within him. Instead, Ursula stepped forward.

"How dare you!" she shrieked. She raised her wand and cried "Petrificus totalis!"

Again Anna blocked the spell with a wave of her wand unaware that there was quite a large crowd forming around where they were. Duels were uncommon within school grounds, even more so within the school itself, as the punishments were harsh. She didn't notice Merida, Kristoff, Jack, Elsa, Rapunzel and Eugene make their appearance either. She didn't see their horrified faces as the witnessed her fighting Pitch's gang and cursing Pitch to vomit slugs. Elsa tried to take a step forward to help Anna, but Jack held her back.

"Don't get involved just yet." He said seriously. Elsa was about to argue back when Ursula's voice brought her attention back on Anna.

"Confundo!" Ursula screamed, sending a powerful confusion spell at Anna. Again, Anna blocked it and smirked.

"Expelliarmus!" she shot back, disarming Ursula and catching the wand before aiming both at Ursula and Pitch. There were quiet gasps from the crowd, amazed at Anna's ability to fight the most notorious students at Hogwarts.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" A powerful voice roared, causing the area to shake a little and the people in the paintings on the walls to cover their ears. The crowd of students parted and Professor Dumbledore stood there with a murderous expression on his face. Never before had anyone seen him so angry. Even Pitch and his gang stepped back in fear. Anna, on the other hand, smirked again. "All of you go straight to my office. NOW! The rest of you, be gone!" Other professors appeared, steering Pitch and his friends and Anna to Dumbledore's office. The students who had gathered to watch the duel dispersed immediately, not wanting to risk the wrath of Dumbledore.

That was, all but Merida, Kristoff, Jack, Elsa, Rapunzel and Eugene. Elsa watched as Anna didn't seem in the slightest bit concerned about what was happening. In fact, she seemed almost smug and definitely pleased by it.

Merida turned to the others, her face grave. "Like I said, there's something wrong with Anna."

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**Tumblr: WarriorOfTheIce**


	9. Chapter 9

Professor Dumbledore was midway through sorting through his memories when Fawkes flew through one of the ceiling hatches. The glorious red phoenix settled on its golden stand as the elderly headmaster approached his old friend. In one taloned claw, Fawkes clasped a rolled piece of parchment bearing the seal of the Ministry of Magic keeping it sealed. As Dumbledore stepped up to the bird, Fawkes held out its claw and allowed the great wizard to take it.

Dumbledore broke the seal and unrolled the parchment, intrigued to find out the answer to the letter that he had first sent. As he read, his brows furrowed, bringing his bushy white eyebrows together.

He had written to the Ministry immediately after he had been informed of the dementor attack on Anna Kongelig and Elsa Isen. He had demanded to know why a dementor was so far from its place guarding Azkaban prison. At the time he had been furious. Since Cornelius Fudge had become Minister of Magic, there had been error after error, blunder after blunder. But now, dread settled inside the headmaster's stomach as he read that there were no missing dementors from Azkaban prison, or any other post from around the world. The letter apologetically informed Dumbledore that there had to be some error in identifying the creature.

The frown never left Dumbledore's face as he called for the heads of the houses to his office immediately. Within five minutes, Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout were all standing before him. He had taken a seat behind his desk.

"Professor Dumbledore, what has made you call us so urgently?" Professor McGonagall broke the silence.

Dumbledore sighed. Slowly he turned the letter before him around and presented it to the others.

"The Ministry has replied to my inquisition about the dementor attack." He began. "There are no dementors missing from any of their posts, and have not been missing."

"Then what attacked those girls?" Professor Sprout asked, dumbfounded.

Dumbledore stood just as there was a knock on the door. "Enter." He called and the door opened to let in a cat followed by a slightly bent man. "Ah, Argus, please lead us to where the creature is being kept."

Filch huffed but complied, leading the professors to where the creature had been brought. As Filch led them deeper underneath the castle, Dumbledore finally answered Sprout. "Honestly, I'm not sure what attacked those girls, Pomona."

As Filch led them down further into the deepest dungeons of the castle, the temperature dropped. However, Dumbledore fully expected to see the ice that had encased the creature had melted. And yet, as Filch opened the door, the large block was still there, making the room so much colder that there was frost circling up the walls. Dumbledore frowned. Elsa had said it was a simple ice casting spell that she had used on instinct, but if that were the case, even magical ice would have melted by now.

As the five professors entered, there was a distinct change in the air. Dumbledore was not oblivious to the other professors getting their wands ready. A darkness had settled upon the room, heavy like a physical weight.

Through its icy prison, the creature stirred. Although the gaze wasn't necessarily upon them, the professors felt like they were being watched by it. Dumbledore took a step towards the creature.

"What are you?" he said softly, yet aggressively. There was no need to speak loudly in this small cold room.

_Albus Dumbledore_, it said, its voice reverberating around the room. There was no mouth from which the voice came, and yet it was not within their minds. The voice itself was gravelly and genderless. Dumbledore took a step back. This was no dementor. They did not have the ability to speak. By this point, even Dumbledore ad withdrawn his wand.

"What are you?" Dumbledore repeated, his voice unwavering.

_I am darkness. I am coldness. I am_ death.

"Ker." Dumbledore had never experienced the death spirits before, except in books. They had to be summoned. For a spirit to become part of the material world, there had to have been a serious sacrifice. And they were incredibly dangerous. How a seventh year had managed to defeat one and stop it from getting its prey was beyond him. Unless Kongelig was not its prey. "Who summoned you here?"

_Summoned by one who doesn't understand black magic_.

"Was it a student?"

_Summoned by one who doesn't understand black magic_.

Dumbledore grimaced. Keres were not likely to tell him who summoned them. It couldn't be a student. Who would be daft enough to summon a spirit of death? What could their aim be? Dumbledore considered his immediate options. What other information he could get from the spirit was beyond him. He had never dabbled in dark magic this strong and had no wish to start now. He could banish it back to the depths from which it came. It seemed like the safe option. Something this powerful and dark was far too dangerous to keep within the school. There were children here!

"You will be banished back to the darkness whence you came."

Amusement coloured the dark atmosphere. Dumbledore had not expected that. Fury, yes. Resistance, maybe. But not amusement.

_Does not know_.

"What?"

_Does not know what is in the castle_.

"Speak the meaning of your words, Spirit." Dumbledore said a little more forcefully.

_Danger. Power. Darkness_.

The words echoed slightly. Dumbledore considered for a moment. Was it warning them? No that's not possible. Keres were not messenger spirits. They were more likely to trick you. They thrived from chaos and that was what this particular one seemed to be doing.

_Danger. Power. Darkness_. The spirit repeated more quickly. Almost gleefully. _Danger. Power. Darkness._ The chanting got faster. There was no doubt about it. This spirit was revelling in the fact that Dumbledore had no idea what it was talking about.

Dumbledore raised his wand, beginning the incantation that would send this spirit from the material world back to its place in the spirit world. As the spirit's chanting increased pace, so did Dumbledore's. The air in the dungeon hissed with energy and black lightening crackled, piercing the Ker, forcing it from the mortal world. As it vanished, three words echoed around the dungeon,

_Girl. Ice. Darkness._

…

None of them had seen Anna until potions the next day. Elsa hadn't expected to see the redhead after she had been escorted away after the duel. Honestly, the blonde didn't know what Anna was thinking picking a fight with Pitch and his friends. Elsa wondered if maybe she had been provoked. Maybe this new Anna that Merida kept saying she was had more of a temper than the Anna she knew.

Unsurprisingly, Elsa and Jack were the first to get to potions. As they made their way over to their table on the other side of the room, the two Slytherins found their way blocked by Professor Slughorn. The usually jolly man seemed delighted to see them.

"Ah, Elsa, my dear, how are you?" before Elsa could answer, however, Slughorn continued. "Look, I was thinking of having a little get together for a couple of extraordinary students. Very low key, of course. Can't have the other, less capable students getting jealous now can we? No doubt you'll be there too, Jack?" Both friends were too shocked to form a coherent answer, so they both just nodded in sync with one another. "Splendid. I should say, there will be some rather interesting characters there this year." Yet, before Slughorn could continue, some other students entered the classroom. Slughorn looked from them, back to jack and Elsa. "Remember, it's our little secret." He smiled before leaving the friends to continue over to their table.

As it turned out, the students who had stopped Slughorn from saying anything more were Merida and Kristoff. When the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff caught sight of Elsa and Jack, their expressions fell. Apparently the two Slytherins weren't the only ones who hadn't seen Anna.

"You haven't seen her?" Merida asked quietly as she approached them. Elsa clenched her jaw as butterflies with steel edged wings erupted in her stomach. She shook her head. Merida's frowned deepened. "If she turns up, Elsa, you've got to keep an eye on the lass."

Elsa nodded. "Of course. But I don't think she'll do anything with all of us here."

"We've got to try." Was all Merida said before taking her place on the other side of the table with Jack and Kristoff.

"Right, so last week, some of you showed that not all of your knowledge of potions has been forgotten over the summer-"

The door banged open as Anna rushed in, her face flushed as if she had just run all the way to class. "I'm so sorry, Professor."

Slughorn shifted slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice his discomfort. "Yes, yes, just make sure to be on time next time. As I was saying, your knowledge of potions will only increase this year, which is why, today we will look at the Black Fire Potion. For the next half hour, I want you all to read about it and make notes. From there, we will begin to create it."

Elsa tried to ignore Anna as she bent and grabbed some parchment, a quill and some ink from her bag. It wasn't often that you would take notes in potions, but if the potion was more complicated then Elsa thought that understanding it would help its creation. As she flipped open her book to the correct page, she heard Anna beside her.

"Shoot!" Anna whispered. "Hey, Elsa, I forgot my potions book, could we share? Slughorn's already a little pissy at me for being late." Elsa looked up at Anna who smiled sheepishly.

"Sure." Elsa said almost immediately. She pushed her book to be in between them and turned her body slightly so that she could read it more easily. It was only then that she realised how Anna seemed to be back to normal today. Elsa's eyes flicked to Anna, who was already staring intently at her. Normally, Elsa would be thrilled, but she realised Anna's eyes were still dead. This was all a façade. The thought made Elsa swallow nervously and look away, feigning interest in what the potions book said.

"Elsa?" her voice was soft, just like it used to be. No! This wasn't Anna. "Look, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I overheard Pitch's conversation and I just lost it."

Elsa looked up to Anna again. Her face showed regret, but her eyes were expressionless. They were usually Anna's most emotive feature. They were what had attracted Elsa to Anna. Elsa knew that she had to play along with whatever this was. She forced a smile.

"It's ok. As long as you're alright." She said equally as softly. One of the bonuses of hiding her ice powers for so long was that she had actually become quite the brilliant liar. She watched Anna for response, noticing how her shoulders dropped slightly, relaxed. Anna smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm fine." She seemed to hesitate, wondering whether she should ask something, but then decided against it and turned to the book between them.

Elsa kept looking at her for a moment more before looking up and seeing Professor Slughorn looking at Anna with concern and, was that apprehension? Elsa had to make the conscious effort to not react when realisation hit her. _He knew_. Slughorn knew that there was something wrong with Anna. Did the other teachers know? They must do. But why weren't they doing anything? As soon as Elsa had asked herself that question, she knew the answer. The professors were just as much in the dark as she was. They were observing her. Seeing what she was up to. The exact same way that Elsa and the others were. Slughorn's eyes flicked over to Elsa and in a heartbeat, there was a moment of understanding between them. They both had Anna's best interests at heart and so were going to look out for her.

Elsa turned back to her book, beginning to read about Black Fire. When she was actually reading up on it, the blonde couldn't help but notice the irony of the potion.

_The Black Fire potion is a fire protection potion. It is also known as the Ice Potion. It is used to move through flames unscathed. When drunk, it replicates the sensation of ice throughout the drinker and therefore provides protection from most magical fires._

Elsa looked up to catch Jack's eye and he smirked at her, obviously thinking the same thing. The book then told of how ice was an easy element to control and therefore was a good source of protection. Elsa internally scoffed at the idea.

"So, I'm assuming you've all read the book. What do you think?" when no one answered, Slughorn and turned apologetically to Elsa. "Elsa, I believe that you could answer. You have been reading up on ice magic recently haven't you?" after a moment of panic that he knew about her powers, Elsa nodded.

"Well, the author of this book seems to be under the impression that ice is an easy element to control. Ice is just a form of water magic and manipulation. Water is a difficult element to control in itself because it's an ever changing element. Ice is stronger, more beautiful, powerful, dangerous cold. Ice has a magic that can't be controlled. Personally, I believe that the author is unaware of the power of ice and in his or her ignorance, ends up being wrong about the subject."

Slughorn was beaming. "Excellent. Yes, that is one of the author's flaws. But I'm glad that you picked up on it. However, the actual instructions of how to brew the potion are very clear." He looked around the room expectantly. "Well, don't just sit there like driftwood, start brewing."

There was a bustle as students went to get the correct ingredients. Like the week before, Elsa went to get them whilst Anna made sure their worktop was ready. Jack went with her.

"That was very impressive. Tell me, how do you know so much about _ice_?" Jack said quietly, obviously amused. Elsa laughed and elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to chuckle. When they were alone in the ingredients cupboard, Jack turned to Elsa. She knew what he was going to ask her. "How is she? She seems pretty normal."

"It's all an act. Her eyes are dead. There's still something wrong with her. And we're not the only ones who know. The teachers know. Slughorn's been watching her all lesson." Jack frowned. Before he could say anything, though, Slughorn walked past and so the two friends shared a look that meant that they would talk about it later.

As Elsa returned, she gave Anna the job of slicing the bursting mushrooms and adding them to the cauldron and stirring clockwise until the contents all turned blue. In the meantime, Elsa was extracting Salamander blood and then adding that whilst stirring anti-clockwise until it went green. Finally, Anna had crushed Wartcap in a pestle and added that whilst Elsa stirred clockwise until the potion turned red.

Elsa wasn't sure if Slughorn knew the exact timing of potions as, just as their potion had turned red, Slughorn spoke. "Alrighty then. That should be enough time." Like the end of all of his lessons, he finished by walking round, assessing all of the potions, commending the good ones and offering constructive criticism on the ones that could be improved.

As the lesson finished and everyone began packing up, Elsa caught Merida's eyes. The Scottish redhead's eyes flicked to Anna and then back. Elsa understood. "Hey, uh, Anna." The redhead looked up. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight? We could practise patronuses again?"

Anna smiled apologetically. "I would really like to do that, but I've got detention. I had to make a deal with the professors so that I could continue playing Quidditch. For the next two months, I've got to polish each and every trophy in the school." Anna looked at her watch. "Shoot. I have to be somewhere. I'll see you in charms." She quickly hurried off, leaving the others confused. Where did Anna have to be in such a rush?

As Elsa finished packing up, she noticed the corner of a piece of parchment sticking out from underneath the table. Anna must have dropped her notes. As she picked it up, Elsa nearly screamed. It wasn't Anna's notes. Far from it. On it, there was a picture of something that Elsa never wanted to see again. There was a dark hood, and beneath it was a pair of dark eye sockets and a lipless mouth, drawn into a terrifying grin. Beneath in Anna's messy scrawl as written:

_Catch me if you can._

**So, another chapter. As always, let me know what you think, I really do like reading your reviews. **

**Just out of interest, what Hogwarts House are you in? I'm a Slytherin, and proud of it. **

**Tumblr: WarriorOfTheIce**


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